


Parent Worries

by SharaRaizel



Series: The Ultimate Gathering of the DigiDestined [2]
Category: Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02, Digimon Frontier, Digimon Savers | Digimon Data Squad, Digimon Tamers
Genre: Companion Piece, F/M, Gen, Side Story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-23
Updated: 2017-10-14
Packaged: 2017-12-12 16:35:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 126,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/813675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SharaRaizel/pseuds/SharaRaizel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While the DigiDestined are off fighting for their lives in the Digital World in Ultimate Gathering of the DigiDestined, how are their families handling things back home? Find out in UGotD's side story: Parent Worries!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: The Calm Before the Storm

**Author's Note:**

> OK, so FINALLY I've gotten around to posting this story here. I've been meaning to update it for months but right now I'm less than motivated so I'm going back and rereading everything, taking notes so I don't have to keep looking up chapters. For those of you reading this for the first time, this chapter takes place on August 1st before the events of chapter 1: August First in UGotD (hence why this is technically a prologue and not a "chapter").
> 
> NOTE: I used the names given in the Japanese version if I couldn't find their names used in the English dub (Ex: Henry and Suzie's brother and sister.)
> 
> I DO NOT OWN DIGIMON ADVENTURE 02, TAMERS, FRONTIER OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS!

** Adventure DigiDestined World: Location: The Ishida Apartment **

The apartment was small, but it was a cozy two-bedroom flat. It’s only residents were Hiroaki Ishida and his oldest son, Yamato “Matt” Ishida. It had been just the two of them ever since the divorce when Hiroaki had taken his oldest son after the separation and his ex, Natsuko “Nancy” Takaishi, had taken their other son Takeru, or “TK.” He’d been given the nickname when he’d turned three and Matt had given him a hat with those same two letters sewn on it for his birthday. The nickname had stuck and ever since that day all those years ago Hiroaki couldn’t recall a time he’d seen TK without a hat.

At the moment Hiroaki Ishida was getting ready for work as usual. He had worked overtime late last night and had come home only for a new change of clothes and four hours of sleep before he needed to leave again.

‘ _Matt won’t approve_ ,’ he mused sadly to himself as he popped a piece of toast into the toaster and poked his head into his son’s bedroom.

Matt was still dozing peacefully in bed as the morning’s first rays of sun poked their way in through the half drawn blinds. His hair was disheveled and in complete disarray without the hair gel it needed to hold it in place. Hiroaki was probably the only one that ever saw his son’s hair in such a state. Not even Nancy, or TK had seen Matt like this. Maybe Matt’s best friend, Tai Kamiya, had seen this spectacle once or twice during one of their sleepovers, but Hiroaki doubted it. Matt always liked to look his best around his friends, mother, and little brother. These days it was mostly for Matt’s girlfriend, Sora Takenouchi.

Hiroaki slipped back out of his son’s bedroom to retrieve his toast, buttering it before looking at the time. It was 6:43. He didn’t need to be at work until 8:00.

“Looks like I could have had a few more minutes of sleep,” Hiroaki muttered to himself as he took a bite of his toast.

“Dad?”

Hiroaki started, coughing as he tried to clear his airways from the toast he had just failed to swallow in his surprise. He then took a couple of deep breaths before facing Matt who was leaning against the kitchen door with his hair still in complete disarray yet managing to look like the rock star he was trying to become. He looked a little alarmed, but that was probably because Hiroaki had nearly choked on his toast. Hiroaki realized that he must have woken Matt up when he left the bedroom. Maybe he’d closed the door too loudly or something.

“You ok?” Matt asked.

Hiroaki sighed, running a hand through his hair. It felt a little grimy and that made him grimace. He needed a shower. When was the last time he’d taken one?

“I’m fine, Matt,” Hiroaki finally sighed. “You’re up early.”

Matt frowned.

“How much sleep have you had?”

Hiroaki groaned internally. His weak attempt to change the subject had failed. It was just his luck that Matt had grown up to be as perceptive and as stubborn as his mother.

“A few hours,” he muttered. No use lying. The kid was practically a human lie detector and could tell when he was fibbing.

Matt’s frown grew more pronounced.

“You’re going to work yourself to death you know,” he stated, disapproval coloring his tone.

“So I’ve been told,” Hiroaki smiled sadly.

Matt let out a loud huff before helping himself to some of the coffee Hiroaki had made earlier. Now it was Hiroaki’s turn to frown. He didn’t approve of his son drinking coffee when he was only in his teens, but he made no comment. He had no desire to have a repeat argument with Matt over a stupid cup of coffee. According to Matt everyone else his age drank coffee. Kids these days. They were trying to grow up too fast. Hiroaki remembered a time where you didn’t start drinking coffee until you were in college and needed the energy boost during a study session or after working for long hours.

“Why don’t you stay home and catch a few Zs?” Matt suggested softly after a few minutes of silence, but there was little hope behind it. He already knew the answer.

Hiroaki shook his head.

“Can’t,” he said simply.

Matt sighed before taking another sip of coffee. It was silent once more between them until he wrinkled his nose suddenly.

“Could you at least take a shower?”

“I suppose,” Hiroaki chuckled before putting the last bit of his toast in his mouth. “I actually have the time this morning.”

Matt cracked a smile as well before taking another sip of coffee.

 

Half an hour later Hiroaki was feeling refreshed as he finished redressing and hurried out of the bathroom. Matt was on the couch, hair gelled and stylized now, when Hiroaki bolted past him and into the kitchen to fill a thermos full of coffee. Hiroaki looked at the clock again. 7:21. He wasn’t late yet, but he knew he had to get going soon if he was going to beat the traffic.

“So what are you up to today, Matt?” Hiroaki asked as he gathered his things.

“I’ve got band practice at 11:00 at Satoshi’s,” Matt mused. “And then I’m meeting up with Tai and the others at Odaiba Park for the afternoon. Mimi’s flying in today so everybody’s going to be there.”

Hiroaki paused on his way out the door.

“It’s that time of year again huh?” he sighed.

How could he forget? Today was August 1st. It was this day four years ago that his sons, Matt and TK, had first gone to the Digital World with five others. They were seven of eight special children that had been chosen to become the Digital World’s DigiDestined and paired up with a partner Digimon in order to save both the Digital and Human Worlds from evil Digimon. Hiroaki had never asked either of his sons to go into detail about their adventures in the Digital World but he knew enough to know that it was important that every year for the past three years that his sons meet up with the other DigiDestined to remember old allies and look back on their adventures as well as share them with new members of the DigiDestined that had joined them just a little over a year ago.

Out of all the parents with DigiDestined children Hiroaki was probably the most understanding and most knowledgeable about Digimon and what his sons and the other DigiDestined were up to in the Digital World. In fact, he had been the only one that hadn’t questioned their existence. In truth, there is a reason why Hiroaki has such wisdom and understanding about Digimon and his sons’ roles as DigiDestined, but that’s a secret that Hiroaki has only ever shared with four others.

“Yeah,” Matt nodded absently, bringing his father out of his thoughts.

“Will you all be taking a trip to the Digital World?” Hiroaki asked his son. “You haven’t seen Gabumon in a long time, haven’t you?”

Gabumon was Matt’s Digimon partner.

“No, Dad,” Matt sighed. “We haven’t been able to find a usable portal recently. Izzi’s been trying to get in touch with Gennai to see what’s up, but hasn’t been able to reach him for some reason. So today’s just a human get together. It’d be nice if we could see the Digimon though. Ever since the defeat of MaloMyotismon, traveling to and from the Digital World has been hard for us and the Digimon can’t even come to our world anymore.”

Hiroaki nodded, then got a look at the time.

“Damn!” he cried. “I gotta go, Matt. Say hi to TK for me, will ya?”

“Sure thing, Dad,” Matt nodded.

“Oh! And take the car today,” Hiroaki added with a smile. He hardly ever let Matt drive the car, but he felt that today his son needed a little pick-me-up. He also knew that Matt was a safe driver. It was TK he was worried about when it came to being behind the wheel.

“What?!” Matt gasped. “Are you serious?!”

“Sure,” Hiroaki shrugged. “I’m taking the van anyway since I need the equipment inside. Just be sure to bring it back in one piece.”

Matt stared at him for a moment before a wide grin broke out across his face.

“Thanks, Dad.”

“No problem, Matt,” Hiroaki nodded. “Now I _really_ got to go. I’ll see you tonight.”

“’K,” Matt said with awe as he bobbed his head absently.

Hiroaki allowed himself a small smile before hurrying out the door.

 

  **Digimon Tamers World: Location: The Wong Family Apartment**

Janyu Wong’s day was off to a late start. He’d overslept and now he was rushing to gather his things so that he could make it to work on time. He ran into his wife, Mayumi, in the hall. She gave him a loving and knowing smile before handing him his briefcase. Janyu sighed with relief when he found that his wife had put everything he needed inside. She then gestured for him to join her for a quick breakfast at the table with their older son and daughter, Rinchei and Jaarin.

“Where are Henry and Suzie?” Janyu asked after greeting his two eldest.

“They’ve already eaten,” Jaarin shrugged before helping herself to some rice.

Rinchei nodded his head in agreement, his mouth too full to speak.

“They just left,” Mayumi informed her husband. “Henry said something about going to the park.”

Janyu nodded absently as he ate. Once he finished eating he wished his son and daughter a good day and gave his wife a quick kiss before darting out the door. He hurried to work, walking through Hypnos’ doors with only seconds to spare. When he went to clock in he ran into an old friend, Gorou “Shibumi” Mizuno. Shibumi was a rather unusual character. He was the only one Janyu knew that could walk into a government building wearing only jeans, a T-shirt, a jean jacket and worn sneakers, and not get fired. From the look of Shibumi’s attire alongside his usual pale pallor, slightly dark sunken small eyes, and receding hairline, a person who didn’t work for or was new to Hypnos would find it hard to believe that this man was the new head of the agency after the previous head of office, Mitsuo Yamaki, had been promoted to Company Director after the D-Reaper incident came to a conclusion. He was a genius and one of the few employees that couldn’t be replaced by some upstart MIT grad. Shibumi was invaluable.

“Hello, Tao,” the blond man smiled, using Janyu’s nickname from their Monster Maker days back in the 80s at Palo Alto University.

“Shibumi,” Janyu nodded as he punched in his card.

“You’re later than usual,” his friend noted. “Usually you’re here much earlier than this.”

It was true. After the D-Reaper incident, Janyu quite his job at the University and had taken up the Head of Digital Research position that Shibumi had occupied for the short time he’d been with Hypnos before succeeding Yamaki. Janyu loved his new job because it meant that he got to work with old friends from his college days and continued work and research on what had evolved from their Monster Makers project that had resulted in the creation of the Digital World and the Digimon that inhabited it. He was never late and often worked over time, much to Mayumi’s dismay. …Although the hefty salary more than made up for it.

Janyu let out a nervous laugh before the two of them boarded the elevator that would take him to Level Five and Shibumi all the way to the top floor where Yamaki awaited him.

“At least I don’t cut it close everyday like you do,” Janyu grinned at his friend.

“That’s certainly true, but I have never been late,” Shibumi shrugged. “I am always perfectly on time. Not a minute early or a minute late. I arrive precisely when I’m expected to be in.”

“Whatever you say, Shibumi,” Janyu laughed as they reached the fifth floor. “See you later.”

“See ya,” Shibumi chuckled just before the elevator doors close behind Janyu.

Janyu walked down the hall and into his own personal office at the end. It had two access doors: one from the main hall and one from the research lab that took up most of the fifth floor with all it’s rows and banks of computers as well as cubicles for those who worked under him.

“Hey, Janyu,” a blond woman with shortly cropped hair called out to Janyu as she walked in from the laboratory. This was another colleague of his from his Monster Maker days.

“Morning Daisy,” Janyu smiled. “How are things this morning?”

The blonde’s smile faded.

“I’m not particularly sure yet,” she admitted. “We’ve started to receive some unusual readings in the Digital World’s make-up on the lowest level.”

“Have you tried to reach the Digimon Sovereign?” he asked.

“Yes,” Daisy sighed, “but we can’t reach any of the digital deities. Usually Azulongmon answers, but now we can’t reach even him.”

About three weeks ago, Janyu and his department had managed to come into contact with the Digimon Sovereign while researching the various levels that made up the Digital World. Shibumi had a growing theory that these four powerful Digimon were the first four Digimon to come into existence after he and the other Monster Makers had succeeded in creating the virtual digital life forms. Janyu didn’t care so much about how the Sovereign had come to exist. He was much more interested in their purpose in the Digital World as it’s protectors. Seeing this as a way to further their understanding of the Digital World and Digimon, Janyu had formed a kind of pact or treaty with the higher plain Digimon and helped Daisy create a program that allowed Hypnos to communicate with the Digimon Sovereign. Azulongmon was their primary contact within the Sovereign and Shibumi was made Hypnos’ official spokes man and “delegate” or “ambassador” for the Human World in general since he had the most experience and knowledge of the Digital World.

“Most unusual,” Janyu frowned, after Daisy pulled up the readings on his computer. “Has Curly come in yet?”

“Present!” a woman said brightly in a thick Indian accent as she entered the office. Rai “Curly” Aishuwarya was another member of the Monster Makers who had come to Palo Alto University from India as a transfer student. Like Janyu, Curly had quit her old job and joined Hypnos as part of the Digital Research team.

“Still no progress on getting a communiqué through to Azulongmon,” a balding redhead reported as he entered the office with papers in hand. “Oh! Morning, Janyu.”

“Morning, Dolphin,” Janyu said absently, taking the papers from the man.

Rob “Dolphin” McCoy was, yet again, another Monster Maker, and had been the one to succeed in creating the artificial life program that made up all Digimon. He had been the one who was the most involved with Hypnos during the D-Reaper incident and had been the first of the Monster Makers to join the Digital Research team, but had been passed over for the job position that Janyu now held. Janyu had worried that his unexpected promotion to Head of Research would upset his friend, but had been relieved when Dolphin had confessed that he was glad that Yamaki had picked Janyu and not him for the job.

“Dolphin?” Daisy frowned when she noticed that the man looked preoccupied. “What’s wrong? Is there a new development with the readings we received from the Digital World?”

Janyu looked up sharply.

“No,” Dolphin was quick to reassure them. “It’s not that. I’m just puzzled as to why we can’t make contact with Azulongmon.”

“We all are,” Janyu sighed. “Could you and Curly try again?”

“Sure,” Dolphin nodded, “but I don’t see how much good it’ll do.”

“Not much,” a newcomer sighed as he entered the full office.

Now all of the original Monster Makers (minus Shibumi) were present. This man was Bable, an African-American whose specialty was theoretical physics. He was the last one of the Monster Makers to take up a job with Hypnos, but was a welcomed addition to the research team his friends headed. The Monster Makers were a rather unlikely group of specialists, coming from different fields of work, countries, cultures and backgrounds, but the six of them were a team of unparalleled efficiency and skill. Yamaki had seen this proven over and over again during the D-Reaper incident and had wasted no time getting them to work for Hypnos.

“Well, all the same, I’d like you to try and get through to Azulongmon while Daisy shows me these strange readings that you’ve discovered.

They all nodded and filed out of Janyu’s office and back out into the lab.

 

  **The Warrior DigiDestined’s World: Location: Shibuya Medical Center**

Yuriko Kanbara waited with her oldest son, Takuya, in the Doctor’s office. Over the course of the last two weeks she’d brought Takuya to the clinic multiple times so that the doctors could run a series of medical tests after some concerns arose after he had developed a chronic cough over the last few months. Originally she’d thought that it would only be a couple of tests and then Takuya would be given a prescription to take that would help ease the cough, but as the doctors found more reasons for tests they wanted to run along with a couple of x-rays and scans, Yuriko began to realize that her son’s simple cough was turning out to be something more severe. Now here she was, a bundle of nerves, awaiting the results of all those tests.

She glanced at her son, noting how he kept bouncing his right knee and stared at the clock on the opposite wall. She took a breath, ready to try and calm her son, when the doctor finally entered the office. Yuriko felt as if her heart had stopped when she saw how grim the doctor looked. She felt Takuya stiffen beside her, his knee stilling it’s bouncing as he too noted the doctor’s expression.

“Well?” she asked breathlessly.

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” the doctor sighed. “Our tests came back positive. Your son has lung cancer and… I’m afraid it’s terminal. If we had found out about it sooner something might have been done, but the tumor is just too large now and spread out. We can go ahead and give him chemotherapy and see if it helps, but I’m afraid that there isn’t much hope.”

Yuriko was shocked. Takuya had always been perfectly healthy up until a few months ago when he’d started complaining about having chest pains and some trouble breathing after playing soccer, but she’d never thought in a million years that it would have anything to do with cancer. It just didn’t seem possible. How could her son have an advanced case of cancer when he’d shown no signs until recently?

“I don’t care,” she finally said gruffly after the shock wore off. “I’ll take what I can. Little hope is better then no hope at all. What are the symptoms?”

The doctor sighed and began rattling off a list of conditions.

“Shortness of breath, chronic coughing, coughing up blood, wheezing, chest pain, weight loss, hoarse voice, and difficulty swallowing.

Yuriko pursed her lips. Takuya had shown many of those signs, but had yet to cough up blood – or at least as far as she knew. Takuya hadn’t mentioned anything about it.

“How long?” she heard Takuya ask numbly from beside her. “You said it was terminal. How long do I have to live?”

Yuriko’s heart ached. Takuya already had the horrible notion in his head that he wouldn’t beat the cancer and was going to die. Not a good sign.

The doctor gave her son a long calculated glance.

“…At the rate your tumor has been growing? …Two years max. And that’s without the chemo.”

Takuya nodded stiffly. Yuriko was quick to grab his hand and give it a firm and – hopefully – reassuring squeeze before she returned her attention to the doctor.

“How soon can we begin the chemotherapy?” she demanded.

The doctor sighed before turning to the computer on his desk.

“At least a week. I’ll make the arrangements for next weekend and you can bring Takuya to the main hospital here in Shibuya,” he said, handing her the folder that held Takuya’s records and test results.

“Thank you doctor,” Yuriko smiled sadly, taking the folder and handing it to Takuya.

Takuya nodded his thanks before following her out of the hospital. When they got back to the car he grabbed his bag from the back seat, stuffed the medical folder in it and took off down the street.

“Takuya?!” Yuriko called after him. “Where are you going?!”

“To Tommy’s birthday party!” he yelled over his shoulder. “I’m late!”

“Takuya! Please come back! We need to talk about your-!” Yuriko pleaded, but Takuya simply cut her off.

“I’ll be fine, Mom! See you later!” her oldest son yelled before rounding a corner and was gone from view.

Yuriko sent up a silent prayer that he would be careful on his way to Shibuya Park before she got into the car and drove home. Her husband Hiroki Kanbara was waiting for her in the living room seated in his recliner reading the morning paper while they’re youngest son Shinya could be heard playing video games upstairs in his room.

“So how’d it go?” Hiroki asked, looking up at his wife.

Yuriko hung her head as she sat down on the couch, unable to hold back the tears she’d wanted to shed the moment she heard about Takuya’s cancer. It just didn’t seem real. How could her twelve-year-old son have a severe case of lung cancer? She knew that Takuya didn’t smoke, that he ate a relatively healthy diet, and was as fit as a horse. Just how was it possible for Takuya to suddenly have such a horrible case of cancer?

Hiroki, alarmed by his wife’s sudden sobs, threw his paper aside and quickly joined her on the couch. He tried to sooth her, whispering soft renascences in her ear.

“Yuri, what’s wrong?” he asked, rocking her gently in his embrace. “What happened? What did the doctor have to say?”

It took a few minutes for Yuriko to calm down and stop her sobs, but she finally quieted and told her husband the results of Takuya’s medical tests. Hiroki was shocked speechless and stared numbly at his wife. A single tear made it’s way down his cheek when Yuriko informed him that the doctor believed that Takuya most likely had two years to live if he didn’t have chemotherapy treatment. A sudden crashing sound made both of them jump and whirl around to face the staircase where Shinya was staring at them with tears in his eyes. The crash had been a game controller that he’s been holding before he dropped it out of shock and let it clatter down the remaining steps.

“Takuya’s… dying?” Shinya croaked, staring wide eyed at his parents.

Yuriko looked down at her hands in her lap and Hiroki could only manage a small stiff nod as he stared numbly at his youngest son. Shinya let loose a river of his own tears before rushing over to join his parents on the couch.

“Where’s Takuya now?” Hiroki asked as he held Shinya close.

“He’s at Tommy’s party,” Yuriko sighed. “I’m not sure how he’s taking this news. He left before we could even talk about it.”

“I’m sure he’s coping in his own way,” Hiroki assured her. “At the moment he needs the comfort of his friends. Takuya has always been a live-in-the-moment kid and at the moment one of his best friends is having a birthday party and he wishes to be a part of that moment.”

“Gee, Dad,” Shinya hiccupped. “Do you think you could have fit another ‘moment’ in there?”

Both parents gave weak laughs, but the small smiles remained. The three Kanbaras snuggled up together on the couch whispering soft words of comfort to each other as they waited for Takuya to come home.

~*~*~*~*~*~

So now the calm of that morning comes to an end... how will the parents take the events that are about to unfold? Find out next time on Digimon: Digital Monsters!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all liked the interaction between Matt and Hiroaki. I had fun writing that third of the chapter. Speaking of Hiroaki, did you all know that Hiroaki is also Takuya's dad's name? I didn't until I wrote this chapter, so to prevent confusion I renamed him Hiroki. So now we've got Hiroaki (Matt's dad) and Hiroki (Takuya's dad).
> 
> I also liked bringing back the Monster Makers. I feel like those people have a lot to offer a story as epic as this. Between Hiroaki and the Monster Makers, this chapter was a breeze since since we've seen and met so many of those season's parent figures, where as Frontier is a little hard since we hardly see any of the parental figures. Sure that leaves me plenty of freedom when writing their characters, but it's hard to come up with ideas on how to incorporate them into the story more. So if you guys thought that the Frontier part of this chapter was a little weak, I apologize.


	2. Chapter 1: Glued to the Television

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously on Digimon: Digital Monsters...
> 
> Digimon Adventure World - Hiroaki Ishida had a normal morning with Matt before going off to work. 
> 
> Digimon Tamers World - Janyu went in to work at Hypnos and discovered that communication between the Digital World and the Human World is offline when they try to investigate strange readings coming from the lowest level of the Digital World. 
> 
> Digimon Frontier World - Yuriko Kanbara takes Takuya to the hospital and finds out he has cancer. Takuya runs off and she’s left to go home, and informs her husband and youngest son what’s happened and they wait for Takuya to come home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place solely in the Adventure DigiDestined's Earth/world and the main POV is Yuko Kamiya's. Enjoy!
> 
> I DO NOT OWN DIGIMON ADVENTURE 02, TAMERS, FRONTIER OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS!

** Adventure DigiDestined World: Location: The Kamiya Apartment **

Yuko Kamiya was cleaning up around the house before she settled down to enjoy a quiet afternoon to herself. Her husband Susumu was at work and their son and daughter were at the park with their friends for their DigiDestined anniversary. So far she had vacuumed the living room, the hallway, washed the morning’s dishes, and now she was going into bedrooms to gather the dirty laundry. She nodded approval when she saw all of Kari’s clothes in her hamper, but sighed when she found Tai’s strewn all over his room.

“That boy,” she muttered. “He’s got a hamper. Why doesn’t he use it?”

Yuko found that most of Tai’s clothes were in fact near the hamper, but few had actually made it in. She could just visualize her son tossing his clothes from beside his desk in the direction of his hamper as if he were playing basketball. If the number of clothes were anything to go by, he was a lousy shot. Soccer was more of Tai’s thing. Soccer posters lined the walls with trophies and ribbons he’d won while growing up. Yuko blinked back tears. There were seventeen years worth of memories in this room. This coming year would be Tai’s last. Her son was now a senior in high school and would graduate before she knew it.

Yuko quickly gathered up all of the dirty clothes before hurrying out of the room. She just couldn’t see Tai moving out. She found him irresponsible and still a child in so many ways. How was it that he’d become the leader of his group of friends? It just didn’t make sense to Yuko. …Or did it? Was she in so much denial about having to let him go at the end of the next school year that she simply refused to see her son for the adult that he’d become? As she separated the laundry and put it in the wash, Yuko began to realize how much Tai had grown up. Now that she thought back on her son’s achievements she realized that he’d managed to hold on to his position as a team captain for his soccer clubs all through middle school and high school and had even helped coach a team for a younger division for the last three years as part of a community service project. And wasn’t he a candidate for a few sports scholarships this year?

Yuko sighed. Yes. She was in denial. Her son was growing up and proving to be a good man.

After she folded the clean laundry and returned them to their owner’s rooms she sat down and turned on the TV. She watched the news for a little bit before the telephone rang.

“Hello,” Yuko answered. “Kamiya Residence.”

“Hey big sis!”

Yuko sighed. It was her sister Machi. This would be the second of three calls that Yuko usually got from her sister every day.

“Hey Mach,” Yuko sighed.

“So how’s your day been?” Machi’s bubbly voice asked.

“Alright I guess,” Yuko shrugged. “I just finished cleaning up the apartment. How are things in Hokkaido?”

“Fine,” Machi sighed. “Matsu is late picking me up for lunch though.”

Yuko looked at the clock on the TV and realized that it was indeed time for lunch. Had it really taken that long to clean up her home?

“Helloooo!” Machi’s voice cried. “Any one there?”

“Huh?” Yuko blinked. “Oh. Sorry Mach. What were you saying?”

She could just visualize Machi pouting on the other end.

“I was _saying_ ,” her sister huffed, “that I was bored and had decided to call. I was wondering how my niece and nephew are doing. It’s been forever since you brought the family out to visit me.”

“They’re fine, Machi,” Yuko laughed. “Tai and Kari are out at the park with friends. Today’s a big anniversary party for them. Their friend Mimi has even flown out here from America for the week.”

“Sounds like fun!” Machi laughed. “How’s Susumu?”

“Fine,” Yuko smiled. “He’s working late at the office a lot though and usually comes home tired.”

“He should take a vacation,” Machi said. Yuko could easily visualize Machi’s head nodding firmly at the sentiment.

“He can’t,” Yuko sighed. “You know how busy the travel agency gets this time of year. Summer is the big tourist season.”

Machi huffed again, sending static though the receiver.

“Well he should book a nice vacation for himself, you and the kids. Tai’s graduating next summer isn’t he? This is the summer to go do that big family vacation you want so bad Yuu.”

“I know Machi, but-!” Yuko was saying but Machi suddenly cut her off.

“Oh my gosh!” Machi gasped. “Yuko! Do you have the TV on?!”

“Yeah, why?” Yuko blinked, glancing at the screen only to discover that the news was no longer on. Instead, she was now watching a girl who looked remarkably like Tai’s childhood friend Sora Takenouchi falling in a dark space. Puzzled, Yuko changed the channel. Odd. It was the same scene only this time instead of Sora it was another of Tai’s old friends, Matt Ishida. In the background she could see someone who looked like Matt’s little brother TK. Yuko froze. TK was holding someone close to him. Yuko flipped through the channels. They were all playing the same program, except each channel was focused on a different child or teen, many of them she didn’t know. Finally she found the channel staring TK. Her heart nearly stopped. Kari was wrapped tightly in his arms clutching at the front of his shirt.

“…Yuko?!” Machi’s voice exploded out of the phone’s earpiece. “Yuko! Are you there?”

But Yuko didn’t answer, the phone slipping from her hand as she clutched at the remote in her other. Slowly she began to flip though the channels once more, taking care to see if she recognized any of the other children.

“Honey! I’m home!” a voice called from the entryway, startling Yuko.

She dropped the remote just as it was changing to the next channel …Tai’s channel. Yuko froze for a second time, staring numbly as her son fell through darkness unconscious.

“Yuko?” Susumu called again as he stepped into the living room. “I was able to get off work early today…”

Susumu froze at the sight on the TV screen. He was stunned, trying to comprehend what he was seeing. He finally snapped out of it when he heard staticy yelling. It was then that he noticed the phone that Yuko had dropped. Machi was still on the other end calling out frantically for her sister to pick up.

“Hello, Machi?” Susumu said as he held the receiver up to his ear. “This is Susumu. Look, Yuko will have to call you back. I just got in and I’m not sure what’s going on, but I’ve got to go now. Bye.”

He set the phone down on the coffee table and sat beside his wife, picking up the dropped remote in the process. He slowly flipped through the channels much like Yuko had done only moments earlier before he came back to Tai’s channel. He picked up the phone again and called Tai’s cellphone. It went straight to voice mail. He then tried Kari but with the same result. He tried their phones again and again, but couldn’t reach either of his children. Yuko had been watching him make the calls with fearful eyes, tears threatening to overflow with every failed call.

Susumu finally gave up on trying to reach Tai or Kari. He glanced at the TV where Tai was still falling on its screen. His son looked so peaceful falling. Any trace of fear or worry was absent from Tai’s features. Suddenly the phone rang in Susumu’s hand. He paused for a moment, bewildered, before he quickly answered it hoping beyond hope that it was either Tai or Kari. But it wasn’t. How could it be? Both were unconscious at this point if the TV was showing them live feed.

“Hello?” a woman’s voice called out. “Is this the Kamiya residence?”

“Yes,” Susumu confirmed. “This is Susumu Kamiya. Who is this?”

“This is Natsuko Takaishi,” the voice answered.

“Hello, Nancy,” Susumu smiled sadly, recalling the woman’s nickname from their younger years. Nancy was an old friend of Yuko’s from high school and they’d both been a bridesmaid at each other’s weddings. “It’s been a while. Look, Nance, I’d love to chat but-!”

“Are you watching TV?” the woman demanded softly, getting right to the heart of the matter.

“Yes,” Susumu said grimly. “I’ve seen our children. We’re watching Tai right now. Do you know what’s going on?”

“I was hoping you would know,” Nancy sighed. “I’ve just called Hiroaki about it and he wants us all together. Do you have numbers for any of the other children’s parents? I’ve got the numbers for the Motomiyas, the Hidas, the Inoues, the Ichijojis, and a contact number that TK was given for the Tachikawas, but I don’t have everyone else’s.”

“That’s fine,” Susumu replied. “We’ve got the Izumi family’s number, as well as the numbers for the Kido and Takenouchi families. Do you want me to call them and tell them to come to your apartment or Hiroaki’s?”

“We’re meeting at mine,” Nancy sighed, relieved. “And yes that would be a big help.”

“I’ll make those calls and then Yuko and I will be right over,” Susumu promised before hanging up.

Yuko had already launched herself off the couch and was gathering some things while Susumu called the three families he’d promised Nancy he’d call. Soon the Kamiyas were racing to their car and driving furiously to the Takaishi’s apartment. When they arrived the nervous single mom greeted them.

“Come in,” she bowed, quickly ushering them into the living room.

Yuko immediately recognized Yolei Inoue’s parents (she went to their convenience store often) and assumed that the teenage boy and the young women with them were Yolei’s older brother and sisters. Cody Hida’s mother and grandfather were present as well. Because the two families lived only one floor above the Takashi apartment, Yuko wasn’t surprised to see that the two families were already present. As she looked around the room she noticed that someone she’d expected to see wasn’t there yet.

“Where’s Hiroaki?” Susumu asked, his thoughts along the same lines as his wife’s.

“He’s coming from work,” Nancy stated, explaining her ex-husband’s absence. “The TV station is in an uproar right now and he’s trying to get out. He took the van today though so he’ll be a little while.”

Everyone nodded absently. The living room TV was currently on and turned to one of the channels showing TK, Kari and Matt falling. Nancy tried to keep herself busy by preparing refreshments for her visitors but was quickly becoming a nervous wreck each time she glanced at the TV screen. None of the others in the living room had the heart to change the channel on her even if it was to check on their own loved ones. Fifteen minutes after the Kamiyas had arrived Sora’s mother, Toshiko Takenouchi, arrived. This distracted Nancy for a couple of minutes from her worrying, but it wasn’t long before she was fretting again. The mood didn’t improve when a distraught Keisuke and Satoe Tachikawa arrived. If anything, it only increased Nancy’s worry for her sons. Apparently the Tachikawas had been visiting family in the area while their daughter, Mimi, met up with the other children in Odaiba Park in the company of two of her American DigiDestined friends, Michael Washington Jr. and Willace Globerman. Yuko tried her best to calm her friends, but nothing really seemed to work.

Despair had set in rather quickly amongst all the families present. It was only when Hiroaki finally arrived that they started to feel hopeful. Nancy’s ex moved about the apartment with a determined purpose, collecting as many television sets and computer monitors in the apartment as he could, – most of them small portables – including a few monitors that had been in his van. Susumu and Mike Inoue offered him a hand and soon the three men had gathered up a total of fifteen viewing screens and organized them so that fourteen surrounded the biggest one they had. Hiroaki then began to connect them to the cable network while everyone else sat back and watched Hiroaki set each screen to a different channel so that as other families arrived they could see the condition of their child. By the time everyone was present, he had the fourteen children they knew the identities of up on the fourteen outer screens, but for some reason he had left the screen in the middle blank as he scanned the other monitors.

Yuko caught a flash of admiration in Nancy’s eyes as the woman observed her ex-husband’s actions. Yuko had never asked why the once happy couple had broken up, but she could tell by the look in Nancy’s eyes that Nancy still had feelings for Hiroaki.

“Why is this happening?” Nancy whispered, startling Yuko out of her musings. “What have our children done to deserve this?”

Yuko then turned her attention to Tai’s screen. He was still falling, but suddenly the darkness around him lightened up a bit and he landed hard on the floor of some kind of cave or cavern. Hiroaki hadn’t turned any sound on yet, but Yuko shuddered as she watched, her traitorous imagination supplying the sounds for Tai’s crash on it’s own.

“I don’t know,” Yuko whispered, her own despair starting to well up inside. “I can’t believe this is happening. I thought all of this nonsense had ended last year after what happened with that MaloMyotismon Digimon and those kids.”

She saw many of the other parents nod their heads in agreement.

“Hey!” Hiroaki suddenly called out. “Davis is awake.”

Those who weren’t already gathered around the screens rushed over. Hiroaki had finally turned on the middle screen and had tuned it to Davis’ channel. The boy was no longer falling or unconscious. He appeared to be in a cave of some kind like Tai and was sitting up with his Digimon partner Veemon crouched beside him. The two of them appeared to be talking, but as Hiroaki moved to turn on the audio, the middle screen suddenly had a whiteout and a bright light flooded the room, blinding them all. When the light subsided a tall young man stood before them in front of the improvised wall of screens. He was tall with short brown hair on the front and sides of his head, but when he threw off his white hood they saw that the back was long and tied in a ponytail. There was a serious look on his face as he stood before them all wearing a black tunic underneath a white rob with tan trim, matching boots and a black belt tied around his waist. Yuko was utterly bewildered. Who was this man and how had he gotten there? Had he come through the television?

“You’re Gennai, aren’t you?” Hiroaki asked.

The young man before them smiled grimly.

“I am.”

Yuko blinked. She knew that name. She’d heard Tai and Kari talk about someone by that name before in passing when discussing the Digital World. Then it clicked. …This man was connected to the Digital World!

Gennai glanced around at the families of the DigiDestined gathered. Yuko saw the worry in the man’s eyes but his face was set in hard determined lines. She didn’t know who this Gennai man was to her son and daughter and the other DigiDestined children, but she had a sense that this man knew something about what was going on.

“I’m afraid that I have grave news for you all,” the mysterious digital man said. “In the past, my kind have tried to conceal the existence of the Digital World from yours, but now that has become impossible. Something far more powerful than us has taken control. Your children were called upon to help save the Digital World in the past, but now they have been summoned to a different Digital World for the same reason. I’m not sure if Izzi ever caught on after what happened with MaloMyotismon, but there are other alternate versions of the Digital World as well as your own world that exist. I have been in contact with these other worlds recently and it is my belief as well as the belief of many other guardian protectors and rulers of those other Digital Worlds, that your children have been summoned to what may have been the very first Digital World to come into existence. It is an old world, far older then our own Digital World, and its existence is being threatened. Two other groups of chosen children from different versions of your world have also been summoned. That is how grave the situation has become.”

“You mean to tell me that all of those other children are from different worlds?” Masami Izumi whispered.

“Yes,” Gennai nodded. “Not a different planet mind you, but a different version of Earth in a separate dimension. An alternate reality.”

“Like in the new Star Trek movie?” Yolei’s brother Mantaro asked.

“I suppose that’s an accurate enough example,” Gennai smiled. “Each Earth is a different variation of another. On some Earths, technology is more advanced, creating a more turbulent parallel Digital World. Some of them have primitive technology and therefore have an unstable and incomplete Digital World that is in need of constant maintenance. Every version of Earth has a digital shadow world except for those that have only just begun to develop life and some sort of technology. But every Earth is it’s own and there is no way to travel between your worlds.”

“Yet there is a way to travel between the different Digital Worlds,” Hiroaki stated, sounding so sure of himself. “That’s why you’re here; to tell us that our children are not only gone from this Earth but from it’s corresponding Digital World as well. They aren’t even in this dimension – or reality as you called it – anymore are they?”

Yuko and many others could only stare in surprise. Where did Hiroaki learn all of this? Everyone was looking around at each other wildly. They might as well have just been told that their children no longer existed.

“Calm down,” Gennai sighed. Yuko wanted to roll her eyes. Easy for him to say. He didn’t have a child who was constantly being summoned to other worlds to solve its problems. How on earth were they all supposed to be calm? “Yes, it’s true, _but_ there is a way to bring them back.”

“But,” Hiroaki pressed. “There is a condition that must be met before they can come home right?”

“Right again,” Gennai grimaced. “They must complete the task that they have been summoned for.”

The families looked around at each other again fearfully.

“What can we do?” Nancy whispered.

“Can we do nothing but sit here?” Toshiko asked.

“Is there no way to help them? They are all just kids!” James Kido exclaimed.

“Weren’t a few of them toddlers?” Nancy worried.

“Those poor kids!” Laura Ichijoji gasped.

“Can you imagine how their parents must feel?” Mel Motomiya fretted.

“I can!” Yuko sobbed, turning to Susumu, allowing her husband to hold her.

“Hold it!” Gennai said, raising his voice. “I didn’t just come here to give you this information. You’re the DigiDestined’s families. You know more about them then I do. I came here for _your_ help. I need you all to come with me. A good friend of mine is already in contact with Michael and Willace’s families. If you come with me not only can you help me find a way to bring them all safely home, you will be able to keep better track of them. In this world it is possible that your technology could fail if events were to escalate and then you’d loose track of your children. It is your choice to come or not of course, but I strongly recommend that you do.”

They all looked around at each other. Yuko knew that there was no way in hell that she was staying here on Earth and she could see that the others felt the same. Over the past few years their children had saved the world time and time again. Very few of them had been able to really help their children at all, but here was someone who was telling them that they all had a chance to help this time. How could they say no when it meant that if they didn’t, it was highly likely that they’d never see their child, brother, or sister again? Without even needing to confer with each other they all returned their gaze to Gennai, determination set in their eyes.

“Alright then,” Gennai smiled. “Come with me and I’ll take you to this world’s digital parallel.”

He reached his hand out to Hiroaki who took it. When Yuko saw this, she instantly sought out her husband’s hand. Now she was nervous. She’d never even tried to imagine what the Digital World was like until now. She only knew of the monsters that had come from it and knew that the world they were now going to would be crawling with them. Could she do this? Could she really travel to another world and possibly never come back to this one? …Yes. She could and she would! For Tai and Kari.

Once everyone was holding hands in a clustered group, Gennai flipped a switch on Hiroaki’s switchboard and that blinding light appeared again. When the light faded, they found themselves in an observation room where there were screens on every wall containing the images of every child and their partner Digimon. There were other men throughout the space but they all looked exactly like Gennai. There was another flash and suddenly four other adults appeared with their own “Gennai” escort.

“Harry,” Gennai nodded.

“Gennai,” the look-a-like nodded back.

“Families of the DigiDestined,” Gennai called out suddenly, making everyone jump. “Welcome to my people’s home in the Digital World! This world contains your children’s best dreams and their worst nightmares. Follow me and Harry and we will show you to where you will be staying and how you can help.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

What is it that Gennai believes that the parents may be able to help with? Find out next time on Digimon: Digital Monsters!

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know how many of you noticed this reference, but in the english dub of the 2nd Digimon movie: Our Children's War Games (part 2 of Digimon the Movie) Yuko mentions that her sister calls her three times a day and I thought that I'd incorporate that in for you dub digimon fanatics. :P
> 
> I can't remember if I mentioned this in the prologue, but if I couldn't find the names of the parent characters in the English dub I used their Japanese names and if I couldn't find their names at all in either version I made them up. Example: James Kido. I use this name in Drowning Memories as well :P
> 
> Another thing that some of you readers may have noticed (if you've read UGotD on fanfiction.net) that not only was the title for UGotD's chapter 20 taken as the name for this fic, but that the last half of this chapter was taken from the Adventure part of that chapter, only this time in Yuko's POV since I did Hiroaki in the prologue. Just a fun little tid bit. :P


	3. Chapter 2: Your Worries Are Never Over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously on Digimon: Digital Monsters...
> 
> The Adventure DigiDestined’s parents see what's on the TV and gather at the Takaishi residence. Gennai appears and brings them to the Digital World with hopes that they might be able to bring them back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place solely in the Tamer DigiDestined's Earth/world and the main POV is Mie Matsuki's. Enjoy! 
> 
> I DO NOT OWN DIGIMON ADVENTURE 02, TAMERS, FRONTIER OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS!

** Tamer DigiDestined World: Location: The Matsuki Bakery **

Mie Matsuki was busy running the storefront of her bakery while her husband Takehiro was pulling out a fresh batch of bread loaves from the oven in the kitchen. Mie frowned after she waved her last customer out the door.

“Honey?” she called to the back room.

“…Yeah?” came his grunted reply.

“Where’s Takato?”

“What was that?” Takehiro sighed, bringing the fresh loaves up to the storefront.

“Where’s Takato?” Mie repeated. “I haven’t seen him in a while.”

“Well you know our son,” Takehiro sighed. “He’s probably out with his friends. …They meet often now, you know. They miss their Digimon partners. It’s been six months since the Digimon had to return to the Digital World and they’re sorely missed by those kids.”

Mie sighed, moving out from behind the counter to rearrange the Guilmon bread rolls on the display shelf. Only Takato’s friends ever bought them, but she and her husband just couldn’t bring themselves to stop making them. They’d even started to make other treats in the likeliness of Takato’s friends’ Digimon as well. The Lopmon, Terriermon and Impmon tarts sold the best because they were so cute.

“I know they do, dear,” Mie nodded, picking up a roll. “I rather miss the big guy myself. …We never had leftovers with him around.”

“That’s certainly true,” Takehiro chuckled. “I would have made a house out back for him if he’d been able to stay in this world.”

“Takato would have liked that,” Mie smiled sadly as she rearranged the Guilmon bread display one more time.

“…Why don’t we close up early today?” Takehiro suggested. “It’s been rather slow anyways and we could use the break.”

“I suppose so,” Mie nodded.

After the Matsukis closed up shop they situated themselves in the living room with a bowl of popcorn. Mie snuggled up against her husband as the two of them settled down to watch a movie they had found on TV. However, halfway through the flick the screen went blank as if their cable connection had been disconnected. Takehiro was just about to get up to see what was wrong when the picture came back, but it wasn’t showing the movie that they’d been watching earlier. The screen was still dark, but they could see the flickering image of a group of kids falling. The muffled sound of screaming filtered it’s way through the speakers.

As the image’s signal grew stronger, more details could be seen and the sound quality improved. Mie and Takehiro watched with confusion and a growing sense of horror as they saw a group of six kids continued to fall through a dark space. The screen was focused on a brunette wearing a pair of rectangular framed goggles over a green hat that was worn backwards on the boy’s head. This boy eerily reminded the Matsukis of their son. As the next few minutes passed by the screams stopped because the boy and the other five children were falling unconscious one after another. Then, to Mie’s horror, the other children that could be seen behind the goggle wearing boy started to disappear. First it was the large boy in the blue jumper, then the small boy with the big orange hat. The only girl in the group was next, and soon afterwards the two raven-haired boys disappeared only seconds apart. Now only the goggle wearing brunette was left on the screen.

“Where did they go?” Mie asked, in a small voice.

Her husband didn’t answer her. Instead, he reached for the remote.

“I think we’ve seen enough of this,” he told her softly.

Mie nodded mutely, but when Takehiro changed the channel the only thing that changed was the boy. This time they were watching the small boy with the orange hat. Mie’s heart unclenched a small bit, seeing that the boy was still relatively fine since he’d vanished from the other channel. As Takehiro flicked through the next few channels, they saw that the other four children that had vanished before were also fine. It was when they cleared the six channels belonging to those children that fear seized them once more with a vengeance. On the seventh channel they saw Henry Wong falling with his little sister Suzie held tightly to his chest. Both were unconscious, but Henry had not loosened his hold on his sister as they fell. Without a word, Takehiro quickly flicked through the other channels, each one now revealing a child that they knew to be a friend of Takato’s. But these children weren’t just random friends of their son’s. They were all children who’d had a Digimon partner like Takato. Finally they reached the channel that they’d feared they’d see. Takato’s.

Mie began to cry. There was no way that the boy wasn’t Takato, as much as Mie hoped and prayed that it couldn’t be. Somehow, deep down, she knew that the boy on their TV screen was Takato and that the other children on the other channels were Takato’s friends and children that had been involved with the Digimon. The only clear question in her mind was whether the footage feed was live or not. How long ago had all this started, or had it just happened?

“What’s happening?” she gasped. “Where are they?”

“Not at the park,” Takehiro said numbly.

“Do you think they’ve finally tried to go back to the Digital World to see their Digimon?” Mie gasped. “If they have, then something must have gone wrong! This didn’t happened last time! We didn’t see them on TV!”

Takehiro was quick to try to calm his wife as she began to hyperventilate in her worry.

“It’ll be alright Mie,” he cooed, running a hand through her hair, saying anything that came to mind that sounded comforting. “Takato came home safely last time and I’m sure he’ll come back safely this time too. On the bright side, we’ve got a way to watch him this time around instead of always worrying about what’s happening to him. I’m sure that once he gets to the Digital World again he’ll find Guilmon and they’ll regroup with the others and find a way home. From the looks of it, there are a lot more of them this time. They’ll be all right. Yamaki-!”

Takehiro gasped. Yamaki! Why hadn’t he thought of the man sooner? After all, hadn’t Yamaki and his Hypnos agency played a huge role in helping bring Takato and the other children back last time? Why not this time?

Takehiro and Mie shared a glance as Mie reached for the house phone, but before she could start dialing, it rang in her hand. Startled, Mie dropped the phone. Takehiro was quick to pick it up and answer.

“Hello?” Takehiro said automatically. “Matsuki residence.”

“Takehiro?”

“Janyu,” Takehiro sighed, relieved. Mie was doing the same beside him.

“Have you seen what’s on TV?” Janyu asked.

“Yes,” Takehiro said weakly, putting his phone on speaker so that Mie could listen in on the call. “Is… are those really our children on TV?”

“I’m afraid so,” Janyu sighed on the other end. “I was there when they vanished into the ground.”

“What?” Takehiro and Mie gasped.

Janyu then explained how the sky had suddenly darkened, lightning flashing, and how the ground seemed to quake yet no trees were disturbed. He described the light that had flashed from a hole in the old empty storage building that Takato used to keep Guilmon hidden in at the park and how the ground had opened up and seemed to swallow the children.

“Yamaki wants all the children’s parents to come to Hypnos HQ,” Janyu finally stated. “I suggest that you get here as soon as you can.”

“We’re leaving now,” Takehiro said grimly as he watched Mie rush to the front hall to get her purse and any other important items she thought they would need. “We’ll see you soon.”

An hour later the Matsukis hurried into the Hypnos building. The programmer, Daisy, recognized them and waved them past security. They followed her directions to take the elevator up to the fourteenth floor, down the hall, and to take the fifth door on the right. The families of the other children and any Hypnos staff member that had been present during the D-Reaper incident six months ago were gathered in the room that the Matsukis now found themselves in. It was a special screening room with a wall that was covered from the floor to the high ceiling with screens and monitors that were all focusing on the ten children Mie knew and recognized. According to Mayumi Wong, Yamaki had ordered some of his staff to prepare live-in suites inside the government building for all eight families. While Mie and Takehiro were all too grateful and eager to accept the offer, they were more concerned for Takato. At the moment all of the children were either still falling through space or had landed somewhere and were lying on the ground unconscious. The children had been separated from each other over the course of their fall except for Henry and Suzie, and little Ai and Mako, who had managed to stay together with their sibling. The first one that had landed and woken up had been Kazu. The Matsukis were standing next to the boy’s parents who looked relieved to see that he was all right for the moment. As they all watched the screens, Yamaki could be heard ordering his secretary, Riley, to pull Kazu’s channel up on the large main screen in the center of the wall and to air the audio.

To all watching, Kazu appeared to be alone behind what looked like a bunch of old fashioned computer banks from the eighties. Then a boy with auburn hair wearing a pair of round goggles that were similar to the ones that Takato always wore came into view on his screen. Mie didn’t recognize this boy as a friend of Takato’s or as one of the six other children she and Takehiro had watched before flipping through the channels belonging to the children that they did know. Upon seeing this unknown boy, Mie couldn’t help but glance over at one of the screen’s airing Takato’s channel and was relieved to find that her son was no longer falling. Her heart swelled with joy when she saw his dinosaur Digimon friend, Guilmon, enter the frame and begin to nuzzle Takato, trying to wake him. Mie was so caught up in what she was watching on her son’s channel that she jumped a bit when she heard Kazu’s voice boom out through the room’s speakers. Her attention immediately snapped back to the main screen.

 _“Who are you?”_ Kazu asked the auburn haired boy, straightening the visor he was wearing.

 _“Actually I was just going to ask you the same question,”_ the boy said. _“I’m Davis.”_

The boy held out his hand and Kazu took it.

 _“Kazu,”_ he grinned. _“I was beginning to think I was alone here.”_

A couple seconds later all the watching parents saw Davis’ channel pop up next to Kazu’s on the large screen.

 _“Davish?”_ a voice with a lisp called from somewhere off both the boys’ screens. _“Who are ya talkin’ to?”_

Davis was helping Kazu get out from behind the bulky computer banks when a blue waist high dinosaur looking Digimon came into view to meet the boys.

 _“Davish, who’sh that?”_ it asked.

 _“Kazu,”_ Davis grunted as he finally pulled Kazu out.

 _“Thanks,”_ Kazu grinned. _“Wow! You have a Digimon too! A Veemon!”_

 _“Davish, who’sh that?”_ the Veemon asked again.

 _“Dunno,”_ Davis admitted. _“Found him while I was looking for a way to turn off the power.”_

 _“Why would you want to do that?”_ Kazu asked.

 _“A friend of ours is stuck in the wires and we can’t move him until we turn off the power source so that he won’t get electrocuted,”_ Davis explained.

Another channel was then pulled up on the big screen with Kazu and Davis’. The boy shown on this channel looked older than Davis and Kazu and was a gangly redhead. It was obvious that he was in trouble, tangled in a bunch of exposed cables and wires. A red beetle insect Digimon was with him, trying to keep the boy from moving and electrocuting himself. Mie and many of the other parents gasped when they saw him. What if that happened to one of their children? It made Mie quickly glance back at Takato’s channel, if only to reassure herself that Takato was still relatively safe.

 _“Wait,”_ Davis’ puzzled voice echoed through the speakers and drew everyone’s attention back to his and Kazu’s channels _. “You said ‘you have a Digimon too.’ What did you mean by that? Are you saying you’re a DigiDestined like I am?”_

 _“A DigiDestined?”_ Kazu repeated. _“Well, yeah, of course I am, but everyone in my group prefer to be called Digimon Tamers. I haven’t seen him in a while, but my partner is-!”_

 _“Kazu!”_ a robotic voice cried out off screen like the Veemon’s voice had.

The two boys and the Veemon turned towards the source of the voice and soon a vaguely humanoid and bulky machine Digimon came into view on Kazu’s screen. Mie recognized this Digimon as Kazu’s Digimon partner.

 _“Guardromon!”_ Kazu exclaimed. _“You’re here!”_

 _“Kazu!”_ the robot Digimon cried. _“You have no idea what I’ve been through! After I returned to the Digital World with the others everything seemed to be fine, but today there was a terrible electrical surge and beams from the core shot out at us and pulled us all into different fields. I arrived here and tried to perform a life form scan but there was electrical interference so I came to the source to shut it down and see if it enables me to perform my scan, but thank the Sovereign you’re here!”_

 _“No worries!”_ Kazu grinned. _“I’m glad you’re here too.”_

 _“Ah, Kazu?”_ Davis said, trying to catch his attention.

 _“Oh yeah!”_ Kazu gasped. _“Guardromon, this is Davis and his Digimon partner Veemon. They have a friend who’s in trouble and needs the power shut off as soon as possible. Can you do that bud?”_

 _“Roger!”_ the robot chirped, stretching out an arm, shooting out tiny cables that attached themselves to the nearest computer bank.

“ _Processing…_ ” the Digimon hummed, lights flashing across his eye sockets.

 _“…Far wall, third switch,”_ he replied finally and pointed to what must have been a wall off screen.

Davis rushed off of Kazu’s screen, but his own channel didn’t loose sight of him, not even for a second. He ended up tripping over another boy and as this one sat up he rubbed the back of his head staring grumpily at Davis. It didn’t take long for Yamaki’s people to find this boy’s channel and pop it up with the other three. Mie recognized this boy as the boy in the blue jumper that had been on one of the first six channels she had watched with her husband.

 _“Thanks, kid,”_ the boy grumbled. _“The one part of my body that didn’t hurt now does.”_

 _“Sorry about that,”_ Davis laughed, but that only seemed to annoy the bigger boy further.

 _“Davish, whatcha doin’ now?”_ Veemon cried exasperatedly from Kazu’s screen since he was still with Kazu and Guardromon. _“Do ya wanna help Izzi or not?”_

“Izzi must be the redhead,” Takehiro muttered beside Mie, glancing sympathetically at the poor boy’s channel below Kazu’s.

 _“Ah!”_ Davis panicked, suddenly jumping to his feet and rushing to a wall.

 _“Which one again?!”_ he called out.

 _“Third,”_ came Guardromon’s replied.

 _“Say,”_ the new boy said joining him. _“What are you doing?”_

Davis flipped a switch of some kind and instantly all of the screens on the wall went dark. There wasn’t even any audio. This caused everyone’s heart to sink.

“Kazu?” Kazu’s mother, Takako, whispered before breaking down into tears. Mie tried to console the worried mother while Takehiro tried to comfort Hirofumi Shioda, but it was hardly effective. They were just as concerned for the other children as well. Mie couldn’t help but glance up at the blank screen that had been monitoring Takato’s channel, praying that it would turn back on soon so that she could see her son.

 

While Yamaki had his technical staff work on bringing the feed back up again, the Matsukis and the other seven families were shown to the floor above where suites had been prepared for them. After a quick tour, many of the families left Hypnos HQ to get some things from home or to call their employers to take time off work, but Mie stayed in the building while Takehiro left to properly close up the bakery and retrieved a few things from home. She had spent the better half of the last hour in the lounge outside the Wong family’s suite with Mayumi and Rika Makino’s Grandmother, Seiko.

“I can’t believe that this is happening again,” Seiko fretted.

“Poor Takako,” Mayumi said sadly. “She’s always been a worrier, but…”

“I can’t blame her,” Mie shook her head. “How many times must this happen? I thought that it was bad before, but this time…”

“…It seems worse somehow,” Mayumi nodded, glancing at her remaining son and daughter as they fought over who was going to get which bed in the Wong family suite. “This time we can actually keep an eye on them, but that makes me feel even more helpless…”

“Exactly,” Seiko agreed sadly. “Before, we could just pretend that they were off on a trip or something. We never knew or could imagine what kinds of dangers our children were facing, so it was easy to pretend. To resume normalcy when they came home and the Digimon were gone. I know that’s what Rumiko did.”

Mayumi and Mie sighed, nodding slowly.

“Mom!” Rinchei suddenly cried, rushing out of the suite of rooms, “I just got a text from Dad! He says that the feed is back online!”

Hearing this, the two mothers and the grandmother quickly rose to their feet, rushing to the elevator while calling out to the other parents as they went. Mie was relieved to see Takehiro already inside the monitoring room.

“What’s happening?” she demanded.

“That Izzi kid is awake,” he commented, gesturing to the large middle screen where the redheaded teenager was typing away on a laptop computer. “And Takato’s now a-!”

“Kenta!” Akemi Kitagawa suddenly screamed as she watched one of the TV’s monitoring her son.

Yamaki barked out an order of some kind, clearing the middle screen of the four channels concentrated on Kazu, Davis, Izzi, and the boy in the blue jumper. Kenta’s channel and four others quickly replaced them. Mie and Takehiro recognized the small boy with the big orange hat. The other three channels were focused on an older boy with indigo blue hair wearing glasses, a curly haired blond English/American-looking boy, and a small brunet boy. All five boys were frozen in ice. This startled all those watching. When had that happened? What had happened during that hour that the feed had been off?

Mie glanced at Takato’s channel worriedly, once again relieved to see that her son was all right. He was even awake! At the moment Takato and Guilmon appeared to be traveling down a tunnel on their own.

“Kenta…”

Mie guiltily returned her attention to the distraught Kitagawa parents. Akemi wasn’t taking it well at all. Shiyunsuke seemed to be fairing better, but not by much. The father was just barely keeping it together at this point. Mie glanced up at the observation platform where she could see Yamaki and Janyu working. Yamaki then turned to Shibumi suddenly. A couple seconds later a scream filled the air and Mie’s blood froze. It was Takato’s voice. Mie instantly returned her attention to the main screen that was now airing Takato’s channel.

Takato was falling over a cliff edge, plummeting for the stone floor below. Mie gasped, hands flying to her mouth as tears filled her eyes. She could vaguely feel Takehiro’s hand grip her right arm, and a few others hold onto her left, but she only had eyes for her son as his scream echoed around the room and inside her head. Suddenly Takato stopped falling and his surprised gasp whooshed out of the speakers, followed by a grunt.

Another channel popped up beside Takato’s and Mie recognized the first boy she and Takehiro had seen on TV when all of this began. The boy with the rectangular framed goggles was holding on to Takato’s hand.

“ _I’m coming, Takato, I’m coming_ ,” Guilmon’s voice filtered through the speakers. “ _I’m coming, Takato_.”

Mie could see that the unknown boy was doing everything he could to maintain his hold on Takato’s hand, but even she could see that his grip was starting to slip.

“ _Hang on_ ,” the boy grunted. “ _Try grabbing on with your other hand_.”

The Matsudas were relieved when Takato did as he was told so that he now held onto the boy’s hand with both of his. When Guilmon finally reached the boys’ ledge and grabbed the unknown boy around the middle, Mie nearly cried with relieve to see the Digimon lift both boys easily. They then lay gasping on the ledge, their backs against the cliff face.

“ _Thanks_ ,” Takato breathed.

“ _No problem_ ,” the other replied, one hand clutching at his chest.

“ _Are you ok, Takato_?” Guilmon asked softly.

“ _Yeah_ ,” Takato replied with a small tight smile. “ _Thanks, Guilmon. You saved us_.”

“ _There wouldn’t have been a Takato to save if the boy hadn’t saved you first_ ,” Guilmon said glumly.

“ _It’s no big deal, buddy_ ,” the unknown boy grinned. “ _It was you who saved us in the end. I’m Takuya by the way._ ”

Mie felt a huge surge of gratitude for this Takuya boy. He looked to be around Takato’s age, maybe a year older, but whoever he was, he’d saved her son, and for that she was eternally grateful as she watched him shake her son’s hand.

“ _Takato_ ,” Takato nodded, introducing himself. “ _And this is Guilmon, my Digimon partner._ ”

He appeared to stiffen after that statement, but whatever kind of worrisome thoughts that had entered Takato’s head seemed to be dispelled by Takuya’s next comment.

“ _Ah_ ,” the other boy smiled. “ _I thought he was a Digimon. We don’t see too many talking dinosaurs in our world now do we? I was starting to think that I might have been taken on a journey to the center of the earth until I saw him. So does that make this some part of the Digital World?_ ”

“ _Not sure_ ,” Takato shrugged. “ _I woke up in a tunnel up there. Guilmon was with me and we are looking for our friends_.”

Takuya nodded.

“ _Same here, but I woke up down there_ ,” he said, pointing down to what must have been a tunnel entrance below them. “ _I decided to climb up here to see if I could find anyone. I was taking a break when you fell from the cliff above. Are you a DigiDestined too?_ ”

“ _Ah_ …” Takato blinked. “ _Yes, but my friends and I call ourselves Digimon Tamers._ ”

“ _I see_ ,” Takuya grinned. “ _Well my friends and I were called DigiDestined by Lady Ophanimon when we first arrived in the Digital World, although I think I’m the only one who remembers that._ ”

“ _Don’t you have a Digimon partner then_?” Takato asked.

“ _No_ ,” Takuya said, continuing to smile. “ _Not like Guilmon anyway. I have a Legendary Digimon Warrior’s spirit for a partner. With it I can transform into the Legendary Warrior of Flame, Agunimon. My friends and I were mostly known as the Legendary Warriors reborn._ ”

Takato appeared to be confused by what Takuya had said.

“ _So what now, Takato_?” Guilmon asked his Tamer. “ _Do we go back up or do we continue going down?_ ”

“ _Down_ ,” both Takato and Takuya gasped with a laugh, many of the parents agreeing wholeheartedly with the sentiment.

When the two finally reached the bottom of the cliffside safely, Mie was finally able to relax. Takato was no longer alone. He had Guilmon and this boy Takuya with him now. Surly he would be safe now… right?

~*~*~*~*~*~

Poor Mie. The dangers are only going to get worse. How will the parents cope with what is to come? Find out next time on Digimon: Digital Monsters!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that's Mie's chapter. Now I've done an Adventure and Tamers chapter. Next one is obviously going to be a frontier chapter.
> 
> Ok, some fun facts about this chapter. I had originally planed to stop this chapter where I'd left it off in the Tamer's part of chapter 20 in UGotD, but I felt that that was too short and that it didn't incorporate Takato in it much at all even though this was in his parent's POV, so (for those of you who've already read that far in UGotD on fanfiction.net) now you can see time-wise where Takato, Takuya and Tai's story from chapter 10 fits in with everyone else's. If you guys would like to see any particular part of UGotD from the parents side, feel free to let me know what part and what parent and I'll see what I can do to make that happen! ^_^


	4. Chapter 3: Wives and Monster Angels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously on Digimon: Digital Monsters...
> 
> The Tamer’s parents are all called to Hypnos Headquarters where they witness Kazu wake up and interact with Davis. They worry when the screens go blank. Later, they then witness Takato’s mishap and his meeting Takuya.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place solely in the Frontier DigiDestined's worlds and the main POV is split between Kosei and Satomi Minamoto's POV. Enjoy!
> 
> I DON'T OWN DIGIMON ADVENTURE, 02, TAMERS, FRONTIER OR ANY OF IT'S CHARACTERS!!!

** Warrior DigiDestined World: Location: The Minamoto House **

It started off as just another normal day for Kosei Minamoto. He woke up, got ready for work, ate a simple breakfast of eggs and toast, wished his wife and son a good morning, went to work, worked until noon and came home for lunch. When he got home he greeted his wife Satomi and sat down to eat while he listened to her tell him about how her morning had gone.

“Where’s Koji?” Kosei asked when he realized that his son was absent from the table.

“He went to his friend, Tommy’s birthday party,” Satomi smiled. “He left about two hours ago to meet up with some of his other friends before heading over.”

Kosei nodded, with a small smile. He was glad that Koji finally had some friends to hang out with. Because of his job as a business management consultant for Hadami Enterprises, Kosei had to move his family around a lot and, as a result, over the years Koji had learned to always keep others at arms length, never allowing himself to make any real friends, just a bunch of acquaintances. But six months ago Koji brought over a couple of other children his age and introduced them as his friends. One in particular stuck out to Kosei; a brunet boy by the name of Takuya Kanbara. He was Koji’s most frequent visitor, often dropping by to meet up with Koji on their way to school. They were in different classes, so Kosei didn’t really know how they had met, but he was glad to see that Koji had finally made at least one good friend.

After he finished his lunch he kissed Satomi goodbye and headed back to work. He had a meeting at 1:30 and didn’t want to be late. He made it back to his office with plenty of time to spare, got all of his presentation notes together and headed to the room where he started setting up. Today’s meeting was about time management. It was not one of his favorite subjects to present to new employees since most of them just blew off whatever advice he’d given them by the end of the week, and he’d most likely have to have a similar meeting scheduled again a few months later when it became a real problem with the supervisors.

When the last man finally took his seat in the meeting room, Kosei made a point of turning off his cellphone in plain view of everyone and placed it on the table. Some grumbled, but they all followed his example. Kosei smiled. Turning the phones off and putting them in clear view on the table was Satomi’s idea. She’d suggested it when Koji wouldn’t stop texting with his friends during dinner one night. This kept most of the room’s occupants from playing with their phones during the meeting and from the look of this bunch – all grad students fresh out of college – it was a good practice to maintain. He’d have to bring it up with the group’s supervisor who was sitting in the back on the opposite side of the long table from him.

The meeting was actually going quiet well for Kosei. It seemed like Hadami Enterprises had finally hired some motivated workers. At least half of them had taken notes and most – if not all – had asked questions. Just as Kosei was closing up the meeting there was a knock at the door.

“Uh, sorry to interrupt, Mr. Minamoto,” a nervous looking temp bowed. “But… you really need to see this.”

Kosei was rather puzzled, but he quickly dismissed the meeting and followed the temp back up to the floor where he had his office. A large group of his co-workers were gathered around the TV in the waiting area with the customers.

“What’s going on?” Kosei demanded.

A small woman jumped, startled, but she quickly calmed herself, looking at him sheepishly like a child who’d been caught with her hand caught in the cookie jar.

“Mr. Minamoto,” she breathed. “I’m so sorry about this, but…”

The woman gestured to the screen and Kosei felt himself drawn forward. Nervous co-workers stumbled back and pulled confused customers out of his way.

“Koji,” Kosei breathed, his heart tightening as he watched what appeared to be his son falling through a dark abyss by himself.

“Sir!”

Kosei finally snapped out of his as daze and saw one of the men that had attended his meeting earlier. The young man was carrying Kosei’s forgotten cellphone and it was ringing. Kosei immediately snatched his phone back and flipped it open, ignoring for the moment the fact that it should have been turned off.

“Kosei Minamoto here,” he answered out of habit. He expected to hear Satomi’s voice, but instead he heard a different woman speak.

“It is time,” the voice said. “Do you wish to see Koji Minamoto again?”

“Who are you and what have you done with my son?” Kosei demanded angrily, startling those around him, including the floor supervisor who’d come over to see what was going on.

“Take the 3:20 out bound train to Shibuya station,” was all the woman’s voice on the phone said to him before the cell went silent.

Kosei griped his phone angrily, glancing up at the screen where Koji was still falling. He knew that he had no choice but to follow the instructions he was given.

“Mr. Nishimura,” Kosei said, turning to the floor supervisor. “I’m afraid that I must leave. My son…”

He glanced helplessly at the TV screen again.

“It’s all right, Kosei,” Mr. Nishimura nodded. “Saki Kisukei can cover for you.”

The small woman next to Kosei nodded.

“I hope your son’s alright, sir,” Saki bowed her head.

Many others in the room offered similar sentiments as Kosei hurried to leave. When he got home, he found Satomi vacuuming the living room. Even if she’d gotten a call like he had, Kosei doubted she could have heard it over the noise.

“Kosei!” she blinked, shutting off the vacuum when she spotted him in the doorway. “You’re home awfully early. Why-!”

“Get your coat,” Kosei ordered. “We’ve got a train to catch. …Koji’s been kidnapped.”

Satomi gasped, but quickly hurried to do what her husband had told her. Kosei filled her in on what was happening on their way to the train station. Poor Satomi was shaking in her seat the entire time. They boarded the train and waited for the next call. Satomi fidgeted the entire time, cleaning her glasses until they were spotless. When she was done, she noticed the beautiful blond woman sitting across from her. She was speaking worriedly in another language to the man next to her. Satomi didn’t know the language, but it sounded like Spanish or something. The couple sitting next to them also looked worried, and were staring at their cellphones like Kosei was. Satomi jumped in her seat when her cell, Kosei’s and the cellphones belonging to the two couples sitting across from them rang at the same time.

“Get on the elevator at Shibuya station. Press the button for the lowest level. There will be a train waiting for you there,” a woman’s voice said out of all six phones before hanging up.

Satomi stared nervously at Kosei. He looked like he was going to break his phone if he continued to hold it so tightly.

“Mi scusi.”

Satomi jumped again, looking wide-eyed at the blond woman sitting opposite her.

“You got a call too?” the foreign woman asked softly.

“Yes.” Satomi nodded. “We were told to take this train if we ever wanted to see our son, Koji, again.”

“Koji?” the man sitting next to the blond woman blinked. “You wouldn’t happen to be Koji Minamoto’s parents, would you?”

“Yes,” Satomi nodded again slowly.

“We are Zoe’s parents,” the man announced. “I’m Kita Orimoto and this is my wife Bianca.”

“I’m Satomi and this is my husband, Kosei,” Satomi smiled. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

Satomi knew Zoe. The girl sometimes stopped by the Minamoto house in the mornings to walk to school with Koji and Takuya.

“I wish the circumstances were different,” Bianca smiled sadly.

“Excuse me,” said the woman sitting on Kita’s other side. She was a well-rounded woman with a pleasant face.

“My son knows both Koji and Zoe. Don’t tell me they’re missing too,” the woman fretted.

“Too?” Kita blinked.

“Our son is JP,” the built man next to her informed the other parents. “We got a call about him like you did for Koji and Zoe.”

When the train finally arrived at the station they got off and onto the elevator as instructed. As it descended, the elevator suddenly shook a little bit and they all realized that they were going below the actual train station. The door opened to an underground set of tracks where, as promised, a train waited for them. They boarded the only car and waited.

“When will this train leave?” JP’s mother – Jackie Shibayama – wondered after they’d been seated for five minutes.

“There must have been other children that were taken as well and their parents are on their way here now,” Kita Orimoto said reasonably.

The other five parents shared worried glances. Just how many children were kidnapped?

A few minutes later – just as Kita had assumed – two other couples, two boys and a lone woman joined them shortly before the doors finally closed and the train departed for their unknown destination. Kosei was shocked to see the Kanbaras who had brought their other son, Shinya, with them. The other couple, the Himis, had an older boy accompanying them who could only be Tommy’s older brother. It seemed that for some reason only Koji and his new friends had been taken. The woman who had come alone with the two families froze when she made eye contact with Kosei. Kosei stiffened his posture when she took a hesitant step towards him. It had been years since he’d seen her, but she still looked the same as she had when they’d last seen each other, just a little more frail and sickly looking.

“Kosei,” the woman gasped softly.

“Tomoko. …I didn’t think I’d be seeing you again,” Kosei said sadly.

Satomi gave him a questioning look, but she’d apparently made the connection on her own.

“Darling,” Satomi said weakly. “Is this-?”

“Yes,” he sighed. “This is my ex, Tomoko Kimura. Tomoko, meet my wife Satomi.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Satomi smiled weakly, not wanting to be rude. This was Koji’s birth mother after all.

“The pleasure is all mine,” Tomoko smiled back pleasantly. “I’ve heard a lot about you from Koji.”

Kosei straightened up, a dark look stealing over his features.

“You’ve seen Koji?” he demanded. “When?”

Satomi and the others in the car looked at each other nervously. No one wanted to be in the middle of a former lovers spat when there were children at risk, but in the confines of the one train car there was no avoiding it.

Tomoko look shocked by Kosei’s reaction and frankly so was Satomi.

“Every weekend for the last six months,” Tomoko answered. “One day Koichi brought him over for a visit and ever since, the two of them meet up after school with some friends and sometimes come over for the afternoon until I come home from work. He didn’t tell you?”

“Who is Koichi?” Satomi asked.

“Koji’s twin brother,” Tomoko answered slowly. “Didn’t Kosei tell you that Koji was a twin? I admit that when we separated, Kosei and I had agreed that it would be better if the boys didn’t know that they had a twin brother with the other parent so that the divorce would be easier on them. But when Koichi brought Koji to see me I thought that you had decided to tell Koji about Koichi after all and somehow got them to meet, but if you didn’t tell Koji about Koichi… how did they meet?”

Satomi was trading confused glances with Kosei when the train came to a sudden stop.

“You have arrived,” the woman’s voice from the phone said over the train’s COM system. “Please exit the train and go up the stairs to the floor above. I will meet you there.”

The spat was temporarily forgotten. Everyone was in such a hurry to get off the train and up the stairs the woman had talked about that no one had noticed that the “train” was actually a living creature. Waiting for them up those stairs was an unusual sight. A woman with long blonde hair in green armor over a white dress with golden metal wings stood before them. The only part of her face that was visible under the helmet was her mouth and chin. Strange, perhaps, but she was still a beautiful sight to behold.

“Who are you?” Satomi heard the Kanbara’s little boy gasp. “Are you an angel?”

“More like an angel of war,” the older Himi boy muttered under his breath, but the strange woman smiled.

“My name is Ophanimon,” she said in the same voice that they’d all heard on their phones and on the train. “I am an angel type Digimon.”

“A Digimon?” the little boy repeated. “What is that?”

“Digimon is short for Digital Monster,” she explained. “I am not from your world, which is why I had to bring you here. Follow me please.”

Yuriko Kanbara had to restrain her son from taking off after the strange digital monster woman.

“Wait!” she cried. “You said that we should come here if we wanted to see our children again! Where are they?”

Ophanimon paused.

“Gone,” she sighed. “They were summoned to a different Digital World. Come with me and my friends and I will try to explain to you what has happened.”

“Does that mean you know my brother?” the two boys asked in unison.

Ophanimon smiled.

“I do. Takuya Kanbara and Tommy Himi came to this world with Zoe Orimoto and JP Shibayama on a train very much like the one you all rode on to get here. Koji Minamoto arrived on a separate train but joined up with the other four later. As for his twin brother, Koichi Kimura arrived here under… unusual circumstances. It was in this world in the midst of battle over the fate of this world that all of your children met and became friends. What were months for them here in this world were merely a few hours in your world. Come with me and I will explain everything in further detail as to what happened then and what is happening now.”

They all followed her up the continuing steps. It was a long climb for the worried families before they finally reached the top where a grand castle stood with its gate open, waiting to receive them. Satomi looked around bewildered. There were numerous strange creatures hurrying across the sprawling lawn and they all bowed as they passed their angelic-looking host.

“Lady Ophanimon,” a deep voice called out.

Satomi clutched at Kosei’s arm when she saw this large pink and yellow… bunny… clown… _thing_ float over to the angel Digimon.

“Lord Cherubimon,” Ophanimon nodded. “What news?”

“The children have arrived,” the big… Cherubimon said. “They are not alone. It seems that chosen children from other worlds were summoned as well.”

“How many?” Ophanimon asked.

“Including the six Legendary Warriors?” Cherubimon mused. “Thirty in all.”

“Hmm…” Ophanimon frowned before continuing toward the castle doors.

“My Lady!” Ophanimon hardly glanced up as a cat sphinx like… Digimon monster landed beside the angel. “Some of the children have woken up. Lord Seraphimon wishes to know how you want to proceed.”

“I have the Legendary Warriors’ parents with me now. Have him come meet us. He can explain the situation best. Lord Cherubimon, could you monitor the children’s progress and alert me should any situations develop?”

“Of course,” Cherubimon nodded with a smile, taking off once more with the sphinx Digimon hot on his heels.

“This way,” Ophanimon said, gesturing towards a hallway on her left. There were no doors except for one at the very end.

Satomi hadn’t left Kosei’s side once since they’d arrived at the underground train station, but now she gazed curiously around the long hall that they now traveled down. She wasn’t the only one. Many others were looking as well. Spectacular murals of these Digimon creatures were painted on the walls that rose to cover the dome ceiling as well. They depicted a great battle of some kind, but without someone to tell her what was painted, Satomi couldn’t make much sense of the beautiful brush strokes. She could sense that the paintings told of a great evil and forces of good clashing again and again until they came to the end of the hall where everyone came to a stop before a set of double doors. Satomi gasped. The mural at the end surrounding the doorway was the only one that made any sense to her whatsoever.

The backs of four human children – a small boy and a blond girl on the left side of the doors and a tall thick set boy and a rather lanky boy on the right – faced them raising some strange objects up into the air that were shooting out beams of light to two human figures shrouded in light and flames covered in strange symbols above the doors.

“Takuya,” she heard Shinya gasp as he spotted this last section of the mural.

“Koji,” Kosei whispered softly beside her.

Satomi took a better look at the two children painted above the doors and held onto Kosei’s arm even tighter. Both Koji and Takuya had their arms outstretched as the beams of light coming from the four children below hit them.

“This depicts the time the six Legendary Warriors… your children, combined the powers that they were given to defeat a great evil. This is only one of the many hallways and rooms that were painted in homage to the six that saved this world. We call this the Unification Hall after what is painted in this mural. Please step inside. Through those doors, you’ll find rooms that you can stay in during your time here and until we can find a way to bring your children back.”

Through the great doors Satomi noticed that they had come into some sort of meeting and common room. Office tables and chairs filled one half of the room facing dozens of monitors that covered almost every inch of the wall surrounding a large viewing screen. The other half of the room looked like it had been taken out of a resort of some kind. Plush lounge chairs and couches were grouped around coffee tables before a large fireplace that took up one-third of the wall it was set into. A pair of doors were on either side of the fireplace that led – as Satomi and the others would find out later – to a hallway of doors that were attached to bedrooms and other living spaces. To Kosei, it was as if he were on another one of his business trips.

“Please, take a seat,” Ophanimon said, gesturing to the long tables on the meeting room half of the space. The families did as they were told and waited, nervously glancing at all of the blank screens. Once everyone was seated, the double doors that they’d entered through opened once more and admitted a large fully armored humanoid being with angel wings.

“Sorry I’m late Lady Ophanimon,” it said.

“Lord Seraphimon,” Ophanimon nodded.

“I assume these are the families of the Legendary Warriors,” Seraphimon said, nodding his helmeted head at those seated at the tables before them.

“They are,” Ophanimon confirmed.

“Then let us not waste their time,” Seraphimon stated before addressing those gathered and launching into an explanation of what the missing six children meant to this strange other world that the visiting humans now found themselves in. They learned that they were now in The Digital World – or Digi-World, as it was called by it’s inhabitants – and that six months ago Takuya Kanbara, Koji Minamoto, Zoe Orimoto, JP Shibayama, Tommy Himi, and Koichi Kimura had been summoned to save it. They were told that they had now been called upon to perform their roles as the Legendary Warriors once more in a different Digital World, many dimensions and realities away from their own along with several other chosen children from other versions of their human world. The main viewing screen behind Seraphimon lit up during his rather quick explanation and showed the families various video recordings of their children’s adventures in the Digital World that they found themselves in today. Everyone finally knew the reason behind the sudden friendship that had formed between their children and Kosei, Satomi and Tomoko finally knew how Koji and Koichi had met, though Seraphimon had been rather vague on the circumstances that had brought the twins back into each other’s lives. The digital angel obviously felt that it was a personal issue and simply kept to the facts.

Once he was done explaining past events, Seraphimon – aided by Lady Ophanimon – began to move on to explain the current crisis.

“As I told you, your children are not in this Digital World, but another far beyond our reach,” Seraphimon said gravely.

“We _are_ able to monitor their movements however,” Ophanimon added. “Lord Cherubimon-!”

“My Lord and Lady!”

Everyone turned to see the double doors thrown open to admit the sphinx creature again.

“What is it, Nefertimon?” Ophanimon demanded.

“We have a situation,” Nefertimon said grimly. “We lost the connection shortly after you arrived. It came back online a few minutes ago, but now the Warrior of Light is in trouble.”

“Show us,” Seraphimon said urgently.

The main viewing screen lit up again showing Koji hanging precariously from a frayed line of cable. Kosei, Satomi and Tomoko rose out of their seats in alarm and many others gasped.

“Get us the feed covering every child in that room!” Ophanimon ordered.

“Yes, my Lady,” Nefertimon bowed before leaving the room.

“ _Get Flymon, Renamon_!” a girls voice echoed out of the surrounding speakers. It sounded as if the girl was in the room with them all.

“ _Diamond Storm_!” a woman’s voice cried off-screen, making everyone watching wonder what was going on since they could only see the limited view provided by whatever was monitoring Koji’s movements.

“ _Good work as always_ ,” the girl’s voice said smugly.

“ _TK_!” another girl’s voice cried desperately over and over again, but there was no response to her cries.

Finally the main screen split up so that it showed the viewers four other children; two blond boys – one of them unconscious –, a red-haired girl and a brunette girl.

The conscious and older looking blond asked how Koji was doing as he still dangled from the frayed cable.

“ _Never better_ ,” Koji grunted as he tried climbing.

He slipped, however, and just barely managed to grab hold of the cable again before its length ran out. The brown-haired girl had screamed as he fell and Satomi and Tomoko – who were seated next to each other – gasped and clasped each other’s hands in their worry, finding comfort in each other even though they hardly knew the other. A few minutes later Koji attempted to climb up the cable again, but this time he seemed to take even more care while climbing it. The older blond boy and the two girls called out words of encouragement to him until Koji finally made it safely to a ledge in the wall. After catching his breath, he scared his viewers when he launched himself into a cable cluster nearby, swaying dangerously from them. The three other children on the screen and the gathered families waited, holding their breaths. When he finally got up into the cables, he leaned back and seemed to relax momentarily.

Everyone let out huge sighs of relief. Koji chuckled nervously, agreeing whole-heartedly with the sentiment of the three children that were apparently somewhere above him. Three minutes later he was on the move again, traveling across a long cable that stretched from above his section of cables to above the younger and unconscious blond on the opposite side of the room. Kosei didn’t know whether to be angry with his son for putting himself repeatedly in danger or proud that Koji was trying to help the other boy.

The three spectators on the screen and the fourteen in the Frontier Digital World prayed that Koji knew what he was doing. Koji had finally reached the unconscious boy when his cable suddenly snapped in his hands. With a gasp Koji fell and nearly landed on top of the very person he was trying to help. The blond’s body slid backwards off the cables, but Koji somehow managed to grab hold of his shirt collar and heft him back up next to him and balance him. Koji’s own balance was thrown off after that and he was suddenly holding on by his arms. Tomoko and Satomi held each other by the arms and Kosei griped Satomi’s shoulder as they anxiously watched Koji try to hoist himself up again, but his arms quivered from exertion and looked like they didn’t want to work.

“ _Koji_!” the red-haired girl called out above him. “ _Hang in there!_ ”

“ _What does she think I’m doing?!_ ” Koji’s voice gasped exasperatedly.

“ _TK_!” the brunet girl cried. “ _TK! Please answer us!_ ”

“ _TK_!” the older blond called out. “ _C’mon, wake up!_ ”

In spite of their cries, the other boy, remained unconscious.

“ _Kari!_ ” A different boy’s voice suddenly called out off screen.

“ _Davis?!_ ” the brown-haired girl gasped out.

“ _Go get them while I get TK and that other guy_ ,” ordered the unseen boy’s voice.

Suddenly the screen added two more channels next to the other five.

A girl with lavender hair wearing glasses was riding a flying beast and was on her way over to Kari, the red-haired girl, and the older blond.

An auburn haired boy wearing goggles had whatever Digimon he was riding pull up under where Koji was hanging and charged it at the opposite wall. He used the wall to spring off of with a bounding leap, and grabbed Koji while passing by just as Koji began to loose his grip. The beast bounded off the nearest wall for a safe landing and the goggle boy helped Koji down.

Satomi and Tomoko let out relieved sighs and hugged each other. Kosei watched his current wife interact with his ex, relieved that they seemed to be getting along. He’d been uncertain of how the two would get along even though he knew that both women were both kind and caring and weren’t known to take violent action.

“ _Thanks_ ,” Koji gasped sinking gratefully to the floor, bringing his parents’ attention back to the situation at hand.

The unknown boy gave him a tight smile before wheeling his mount around again for a second run in order to get the TK boy who was quickly slipping off the cables again now that Koji wasn’t there to keep him balanced. He made the same pass, but had overshot his trajectory. The boy gritted his teeth, before throwing himself off the Digimon’s back as they sailed over the section of cables. There was a chorus of gasps from the monitors and the watchers alike as he landed swaying in the cables and TK began to fall. The boy’s hand shot out and grabbed TK’s, but caught the unconscious boy awkwardly. The parents watching shuddered as they saw the shoulder twist and set itself at a weird angle. There was a snapping sound and the boy let out an agonized scream that brought TK back to consciousness.

“ _Whoa!_ ” the blonde cried when he saw the long drop below him. “ _Did I miss something?_ ”

“ _I’d say_ ,” the other boy gasped through gritted teeth.

“ _Need a lift?_ ” the lavender haired girl asked as she pulled her flying Digimon up underneath TK and the goggle boy.

“ _Thanks, Yolei_ ,” TK sighed as the other let him go, dropping him neatly behind the girl on the Digimon’s back.

The injured boy let his arm hang limp in the air as he waited for Yolei to return for him.

The parents watched as the girl set TK on the ground and came back for the boy that had rescued him and Koji. When they landed, the girl called out for someone called Joe.

A teenage boy with long navy hair on Koji’s screen turned from where he had apparently been looking TK and Koji over and hurried to the injured boy whose arm was held up stiffly and at an odd angle by his side.

“ _I think his shoulder was dislocated when he saved TK_ ,” Yolei explained.

Apparently this Joe had some medical knowledge and Kosei watched approvingly as the teen gently began to gently prod the injured shoulder. The boy that had rescued Koji and TK winced several times, but he didn’t yell or cry, even though he looked like he wanted to.

“ _Yup_ ,” Joe finally sighed, making a pained face. “ _It’s dislocated alright_.”

“ _Can you relocate it Joe?_ ” a different redhead from the one before asked.

“ _Yes_ ,” Joe nodded slowly. “ _I’ve done it once before at the clinic I’m interning at, but it’ll be painful. It’s twisted out of its socket so I’ll have to re-twist it and then pop it back in place._ ”

The injured boy closed his eyes, but a hand gently gripped his good shoulder. TK and the Kari girl had come into the screen. They appeared to be a couple.

“ _Thank you, Davis_ ,” TK said meaningfully, finally giving the watching Frontier DigiDestined families the name of the brave rescuer. “ _You saved my life_.”

“ _Bandana boy was doing a pretty good job before I showed up_ ,” Davis said.

“ _His name is Koji_ ,” Kari told him softly.

“ _Yeah, Koji_ ” Davis nodded distractedly.

“It’s not like they’ve been introduced,” everyone in the room heard Yutaka mutter none too quietly.

Koji came up behind Kari to offer his thanks as well.

“ _Thanks for helping us out up there. I was in real trouble for a moment._ ”

“ _No problem_ ,” Davis shrugged, before grimacing. It hadn’t been the smartest thing to do with an injured shoulder.

“ _All right everyone_ ,” Joe sighed. “ _Give us space. I’m going to reset his shoulder now_.”

The others hurriedly moved away off Davis’s screen except for Joe. The parents watched nervously, Yuriko shielding Shinya’s eyes, as Joe twisted Davis’ arm back into what looked like the right position. Davis let out an awful scream and coughed unsteadily a few times as he caught his breath.

“ _All right, Davis_ ,” Joe said soothingly, patting him gently on the back of the boy’s good shoulder. “ _The worst is over. Now I’m going to pop your arm back into your shoulder socket. It’s going to hurt, but it shouldn’t be as painful as the twist. …Ready?_ ”

Davis nodded, sweat dripping down his face. Everyone braced themselves again as Joe grabbed the injured arm again and pushed up. There was a sickening snap that echoed through the speakers followed by a pained moan from Davis.

Joe then began to rummage through a bag he’d set down before resetting Davis’ shoulder and pulled out what looked like an instant ice pack. The parents were relieved to see that the older boy was a competent medic. It made their worry for their children lessen momentarily now that they knew that if their child got hurt, someone that had the knowledge to help them was there.

“It seems that Takuya and Koichi are missing,” Ophanimon mused as the main screen focused on Koji’s channel alone while the other surrounding monitors began to light up, each one focusing on a different child or teen. Zoe could be seen hugging Koji while JP and Tommy stood back in the background, with relieved smiles on their face.

“Apparently all of the children were separated when they arrived,” Nefertimon stated as she reentered the room. “Now most of the children have found each other and only a few have yet to be found.”

“Thank you, Nefertimon,” Seraphimon sighed. “Keep these channels running and update us of any developments on our end.”

“My Lord,” the sphinx Digimon bowed before leaving once more.

~*~*~*~*~*~

What kind of developments is Nefertimon monitoring? How will the Frontier parents take it when they learn the truth about Koichi and Koji's reunion? Find out next time on Digimon: Digital Monsters!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rather liked writing in Kosei and Satomi's POV. I'd always thought of Kosei as a business man of some kind so I gave him a job at a company that would involve a lot of moving, giving Koji a reason for his anti-social behavior and crappy people skills that he exhibited early in season 4.
> 
> I'd originally thought about there being an air of tension between Satomi and Tomoko, but both women just wouldn't cooperate with me and ended up showing what motherly and caring people they are. Just because they'd both married the same man didn't mean that they couldn't be friends. I actually thought that it was kind of funny that both mothers got along. XD OH! And don't think that Kosei's gotten off the hook so easily for not telling Satomi about Koichi. There are serious words to be had! :O


	5. Chapter 4: Communications Disruption

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously on Digimon: Digital Monsters...
> 
> Digimon Frontier World - Kosei Minamoto was at work when he saw his son on TV and got a call from Ophanimon. He and Satomi went to Shibuya station where they were joined by the other families and his ex-wife. They met Ophanimon at the Trailmon station and followed her into the castle where she and Seraphimon informed them of how their children met and became the Legendary Warriors before witnessing Koji’s plight in the Light Chamber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place solely in the Adventure DigiDestined's Digital World and the chapter takes place in Mel Motomiya's POV.
> 
> I DO NOT OWN DIGIMON ADVENTURE, 02, TAMERS, FRONTIER, OR ANY OF IT'S CHARACTERS!!!

** The Adventure DigiDestined Digital World: Location: Gennai’s Base **

Poor Mel Motomiya was sobbing into Dan Motomiya’s chest with Jun holding her arm. The first time she’d heard the horrible scream echo through the large complex, she knew instinctively that it had been Davis’. Call it mother’s intuition if you want, but it was enough to send her racing for the nearest monitor. By the time she’d navigated the winding hallways to one of the many observation rooms that were filled wall to wall with screens, her eyes zeroed in on a screen that was monitoring her son and what she saw scared her beyond words. She watched the Inoue girl bring Davis over to Joe Kido for examination. Mel saw the unnatural and awkward way Davis held his right arm. That’s when she started trembling. She didn’t know when the five others that had followed her came in, but she wasn’t aware of their presence until Dan’s arms wrapped tightly around her. She was vaguely aware of James Kido and his son Jim standing nearby watching Joe examine Davis.

“ _Yup_ ,” Joe’s voice sighed through the speakers. “ _It’s dislocated alright._ ”

“ _Can you relocate it, Joe?_ ” a girl’s voice asked. Sora Takenouchi’s maybe?

Mel clutched tightly at Dan and Jun’s hands as she waited with baited breath for the doctor’s son’s answer.

“ _Yes_ ,” Joe said slowly. “ _I’ve done it once before at the clinic I’m interning at, but it’ll be painful. It’s twisted out of its socket so I’ll have to re-twist it and then pop it back in place_.”

Mel let out a shaky breath barely aware of the number of hands on her person as others tried to console her. Dan’s embrace strengthened in his own attempt to quell her fears. The look on Davis’ face screamed at her, making her want to wrap her arms around her injured son. He’d only been gone for a little over a day and he was already hurt. The side conversations Davis was having with children that she did and didn’t know were lost on her as she watched him try to disguise how much pain he was in while Joe was preparing for what he needed to do to help her son. She wasn’t sure how long she remained in that numb and unseeing state, but the next words to register in her mind set every nerve of her being alight and on full alert.

“ _All right everyone_ ,” Joe’s voice called out from the speakers. “ _Give us space. I’m going to reset his shoulder now_.”

Mel held her breath as she watched Joe steel himself before twisting Davis’ arm back into the right position. She couldn’t stop the tears from falling as she watched her son. His second scream shook her to her core. It was louder than the first one and she felt her whole body tremble despite Dan’s tight hold on her, sobs raking her body.

“ _All right, Davis_ ,” Joe’s voice said soothingly, bringing Mel back out of her sorrow. “ _The worst is over. Now I’m going to pop your arm back into your shoulder socket. It’s going to hurt, but it shouldn’t be as painful as the twist. …Ready?_ ”

Davis nodded, sweat dripping down his face, but there was a determined set to his jaw that Mel couldn’t help but be proud of. When had her little boy grown up to be such a brave man? She watched apprehensively as Joe grabbed Davis’ arm again and pushed up. A sickening snap echoed deafeningly through the speakers and rang in Mel’s ears, but this time there was no accompanying scream. Davis moaned quietly instead.

“Good boy,” she heard James Kido say proudly. “Couldn’t have reset the arm better myself. Davis is going to be just fine, Mrs. Motomiya.”

Mel released a relieved breath and leaned heavily against her husband as she allowed her body to cry itself out and Jun to rub her arm in a comforting gesture while shedding tears of her own. They all watched Joe rummage through a bag before pulling out an instant ice pack.

“Thanks,” Davis sighed as Joe applied the pack and began making a sling for Davis to rest his arm in.

“He’s fine, Mel,” Dan whispered. “Joe’s done a good job. Dr. Kido said so himself.”

“He looks better already,” Jun added.

Mel nodded numbly as she watched Davis smile a genuine smile and assure his friends and the other children that he was alright now.

“Now that the crisis appears to be over, could I have you all follow me, please?” a familiar sounding voice asked.

Mel looked up from Dan’s embrace and saw one of the many digital men that worked in this place and looked like Gennai. Which one he was Mel hadn’t the slightest clue.

“Couldn’t you give them a moment, for pity’s sake?” James Kido protested. “Their son was just hurt-!”

“And has been taken care of,” the digital man stated calmly, gesturing to the screen where Davis was boarding his Digimon partner’s back with the help of his friends, TK and Kari.

James Kido pursed his lips together, and looked like he was about to say something further, but Mel spoke up. The good doctor needn’t go through so much trouble on her behalf.

“It’s alright, Dr. Kido,” she smiled weakly. “He’s right. Davis is safe and on the road to recovery now thanks to your son. Standing here crying over what happened to Davis won’t bring him back any sooner.”

“Quite right, Miss,” the digital man bowed. “Now if you’ll please follow me…”

James Kido glared at the insensitive hunk of data, but Mel gave him another smile and placed a hand of thanks on his arm. The good doctor sighed and followed her and Dan out of the room.

They started down one of the many long and winding corridors. Mel was sure that if they didn’t have a guide, she would have gotten lost. When they reached the end of the corridor they took a lift up three floors and continued down a complex maze of halls before ending up in a pristine meeting room. All of the other parents were there with Gennai and another one of his look-a-likes. She was pretty sure that this one was called Harry and had brought the American parents.

“We saw what happened to Davis,” Gennai stated sadly, gesturing to the monitor behind him. “How are you holding up?”

Mel smiled weakly while Dan just told everyone that they were fine.

“We saw him save TK,” Nancy Takaishi spoke up softly. “He was very brave.”

Mel’s smile strengthened in her pride for her son as she took the seat next to the single mother. Dan sat on her other side. James Kido took up a seat opposite them while Jun and Jim went around the table to occupy two empty seats left for them further down. It was only then that Mel realized that Toshiko Takenouchi had been with them as well. The woman took a seat next to the Kamiyas across from her husband who’d arrived in the Digital World some time after they had.

“So what is this about, Gennai?” Mel heard Mike Inoue demand. “It’s been a little over a day and you still haven’t told us yet what we can do to bring our children home.”

Many others nodded.

Gennai held up his hands in a placating gesture.

“We have been looking into that, Mr. Inoue,” said the unknown digital man that had brought Mel and her group to the room. “Gennai had originally intended for you all to come to the Digital World in the hopes that you’d be able to reach out to the DigiDestined of this world through the bond that you all share with your child. Amplified with Azulongmon’s powers, the bonds would have been able to serve as a bridge to create a digital portal from this Digital World to where ever it is they are now. …Unfortunately for reasons currently unknown this method is no longer effective as Mr. Ishida helped demonstrate only a few hours ago when we tried to make contact with TK or Matt. At this present point in time we have no way of communicating with your children due to some sort of interference.”

Mel felt her heart sink. So there was nothing that they could do after all.

“But surely there must be something else,” Masami Izumi cried. “You wouldn’t have called us all here just to tell us that!”

“You’re right, Mrs. Izumi,” Gennai nodded, shooting a glare at the insensitive digital man standing opposite him. “Martin failed to mention that even though we have no present means of communication there still might be hope yet. Izzi has his laptop with him providing us with an opportunity. It’s the same laptop that he has used since he first came to the Digital World and that I’ve tinkered with. I have even synced my systems once or twice with his computer in order to provide him with helpful programs like the Digimon Analyzer. It carries this Digital World’s signature within its hard drive-!”

“What?!” the other digital man – Martin – exploded. “You mean to tell me that you shared our technology with a human child?”

“Izzi is a highly capable young man and knows how to use our technology. In fact, I’d dare to say that he knows how to use it better then over half of us residing in this base,” Gennai said coolly.

Martin looked enraged.

“He’s got a point, Martin,” Harry spoke up for the first time. “I’ve dealt with Izzi once before. Not personally, but I was sent to examined his computer’s hard drives back when we were doing the wipes on all events on earth that had concerned Digimon after the Dark Master’s defeat. I noticed that his program coding encryptions are a lot stronger then some of the work from our so-called experts. I couldn’t get into at least half of his files.”

“That good, huh?” Martin frowned, not liking the idea that there was a human out there that was possibly smarter than himself or any of his digital people and therefore capable of hacking into the sensitive information that they protected.

“Moving on,” Gennai sighed, pulling up an image on the screen. “What I was trying to say was that we could use Izzi’s laptop as the bridge to serve as our link to this other Digital World. When that happens we’ll be able to send them help and hopefully bring them home. The only problem is finding a strong enough power source to boost the signal that will establish the link now that we’ve got this strange communication interference to deal with. In the mean time, Centarumon has been looking into something for me for the last few years that I think will help the DigiDestined.”

“What has this… Centarumon? What has he found?” Dan asked.

“Shortly before Tai and the other seven children defeated the Dark Masters, Centarumon and I found a text foretelling of a great evil that had emerged into this world that the original DigiDestined had once defeated and that it would soon return. At the time we believed that this evil was Apocalymon, but recently we have begun to have our doubts.”

“What kind of doubts?” Toshiko Takenouchi frowned.

“…Within the last year alone it has been proven that there are other worlds out there that can end up having a direct effect on our own worlds,” Harry took over. “The Dark Ocean and the failed dream world where MaloMyotismon had been regenerating in are only a couple of the worlds that have ever had a direct link to our worlds at one time or another. We believe that the great evil that had been foretold in that text wasn’t describing Apocalymon but another enemy that hasn’t actually appeared in this world yet. All we know is that the evil will come from behind a wall of flame in the far reaches of the Digital World like Apocalymon had. Apocalymon was most likely a miserable byproduct of what is to come. That is what Centarumon has been investigating.”

“What my colleagues are trying to get at, humans, is that all of the evils that your children have encountered in this world up until now may not have originated from our world, but another Digital World within the Multi-Verse,” Martin frowned.

“Multi-Verse?” Mel blinked. “I’m afraid I don’t understand.”

“The Multi-Verse is a collaboration of universes,” Gennai explained. “Put even more simply, it is a collection of worlds; planetary, digital, virtual, dream… Every world, dimension and reality is a part of the Multi-Verse. We don’t know much about the Multi-Verse itself since we have only recently come to know of its existence through incoming communications sent to us from other Digital Guardians that reside over other disturbed Digital Worlds.”

“Does that mean that you’ve been in communication with the guardians from the other DigiDestined’s worlds?” Yoshie Izumi asked.

Martin and Gennai traded nervous glances, but Harry promptly answered.

“We’ve tried, but communications between worlds has recently gone off line. We believe that it’s the same interference that is stopping us from getting in touch with your children. It’s as if there has been a universally wide communications disruption… and I’m afraid that it might not bode well for the DigiDestined. …We don’t even have the power to send any of you back to the human world.”

There was a great deal of whispering after this.

“So we’re stuck here?” Jun gasped from beside Jim Kido.

“So it would seem,” Gennai sighed.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Looks like the parents are in a jam. Will they be able to sort out their technical malfunctions? Find out next time on Digimon: Digital Monsters!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hated having to go back and redo a scene for the 3rd time, but I felt that we needed to see a reaction to Davis' injury from his parents. It also allowed me to introduce the compassionate James Kido (who I am kinda basing off of a combination of Dr. Carlisle Cullen from Twilight and Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy from Star Trek) and the annoying Martin character I've been working on (who's based off of no one in particular). What did you think of Martin? Quite the jerk isn't he?
> 
> I can't help but think of how loaded this chapter is with information, but what I do like about the parents side of things is that we get to delve into and explore the technical aspects of UGotD that can't be explained in the original storyline.


	6. Chapter 5: Concern for the Little Ones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously on Digimon: Digital Monsters...
> 
> Mel Motomiya witnesses what happened to Davis and after James Kido assures her that Joe has taken care of Davis, the parents all meet up to learn that at the current time, there is no way to reach their children. Martin, Henry and Gennai then begin to explain to the parents about the growing theory of an evil that exists in another Digital World that evil Digimon like Apocalymon might have originated from and explain the concept of the Multi-Verse. They are also informed that travel between all worlds – including their Earth and Digital World – has been blocked for reasons yet unknown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place solely in the Tamers Human World and the chapter takes place in Keitsu Fukazawa's (Ai and Mako's Dad's) POV.
> 
> I DO NO OWN DIGIMON ADVENTURE, 02, TAMERS, FRONTIER OR ANY OF IT'S CHARACTERS!!!

** Tamer DigiDestined World: Location: Hypnos Headquarters  **

Keitsu Fukazawa was currently seated in a lounge chair in a common room with his wife Mari, the Katou family, and Rumiko and Seiko Makino. There were four TVs on tuned to Jeri, Rika and Ai and Mako’s channels on the wall they were all facing. Though nothing too serious had happened to their children yet, Keitsu wasn’t at all comfortable with what had been occurring over the course of the last thirty-six hours. Ai and Mako had remained in fetal positions the entire time they’d been in the strange place that the other parents called a Digital World. He and Mari had been extremely surprised to find that one of Ai and Mako’s favorite stuffed animals was in fact a living creature called a Digimon. Janyu Wong had tried to explain to the young mother and father about these Digimon things and the world they lived in, but Keitsu found it all to be too horribly fantastic to believe, yet there was hard video evidence on the TV screens before him that made it difficult to refute such a concept. Digimon were supposed to be creatures that were a part of a children’s show…

“What happened to that boy was just awful,” Rumiko was saying, looking away from the screen where her daughter Rika was watching the Davis kid mount the back of one of those Digimon creatures with the aid of his friends. “I’m glad that Rika is safe, but…”

“But she’s still in danger by just being there,” Tadashi Katou stated grimly. “They all are.”

Mari began shaking so Keitsu reached over and pulled her into his lap, wrapping an arm securely around her waist. It was quiet for a moment until there was a small creaking sound indicating that one of the doors to the lounge’s connecting suites had opened. It was late at night, so Keitsu wasn’t surprised to see the sleepy but worried little Katou boy. He looked to be around Mako’s age.

“Big sister is going to be ok… right, Mommy?” the boy asked as he came into the room, hugging a stuffed animal to his chest. “Jeri is strong! Like a lion! She said so!”

“Of course,” Shizue Katou smiled, kneeling in front of her son. “Your big sister is very strong and very brave. She’s got her friends with her as well so I’m sure she’ll be alright.”

The little boy looked up at his father who nodded. Keitsu was beginning to learn that Tadashi Katou was a man of few words even when around his family, but the man was far from uncaring. The Katous were actually neighbors of the Fukazawa family and Jeri had become a very convenient and reliable babysitter over the last few months. So if Keitsu and Mari Fukazawa had any friends among the group of adults who’s children were in this same situation as his own, it was the Katou family. Tadashi had even shared with Keitsu and Mari the painful story of what had happened to Jeri during the event that everyone at Hypnos seemed to refer to as the D-Reaper Incident. Keitsu felt sorry for the Katou girl after hearing what had happened to her Digimon friend, but it was because of her experience with Digimon and the Digital World that he felt that Ai and Mako couldn’t have been left in more capable hands. Surely Jeri would continue to watch over Ai and Mako in this strange place? And if not her, surely her more experienced friends and the older children from the “other realities” would keep an eye on the little ones?

“Keitsu?” Mari said softly. “Are you alright?”

“Hmm?” Keitsu blinked, not realizing that he’d spaced out. “I’m sorry dear, what did you say?”

Mari looked at him with worried eyes.

“Nothing… You just looked out of it,” Mari mumbled, resting her head on his shoulder.

“It is rather late,” Seiko sighed. “I suppose we should all be turning in for the night.

“Yes!” Shizue exclaimed. “And you should be off to bed, Masahiko!”

Her son nodded and took her hand as she guided him back to their family’s suite.

Rumiko rose from her own seat and helped Seiko to her feet as well but before anyone else made a move a chorus of voices cried out from the speakers.

“ _Jeri wait!_ ”

Hearing this, Shizue quickly returned to the room with Masahiko right behind her. Everyone’s attention immediately went to the TV screens where they saw Jeri running away from the large group of children. It took a moment for them to figure out what was happening but from the bits of conversation they picked up from Rika’s channel they were relieved to hear that Jeri had rushed off because they’d found Ai and Mako. It didn’t take long for Jeri to appear on both of the Fukazawa children’s channels and they on hers, but she stood back a couple feet, analyzing the situation with care before acting.

“ _He’s gone_ ,” Ai hiccupped. “ _He ran away_.”

“ _It’s all our fault_ ,” Mako cried. “ _He left because we were too rough with him_.”

The Digimon that was supposed to be their shared partner gently grabbed one shoulder on each kid.

“ _But guys, I’m right here! I’m not going anywhere either._ ”

He turned helplessly to look at Jeri and probably the rest of the children. Rika had come to a stop, so Keitsu assumed that the redhead had caught up with Jeri even though her channel didn’t show it.

“ _They can’t hear me_ ,” the small Digimon’s voice trembled. “ _No matter what I say or do my words and touch don’t reach ‘em_.”

“ _Hey Sora_ ,” the older blond from earlier said to a redheaded girl that looked to be around his age – his name was Matt, if Keitsu remembered right. “ _Do you remember that tunnel Joe and I found you in when you came to get us before our fight with Piedmon?_ ”

“ _Yes_ ,” the Sora girl agreed slowly.

“ _Remember how you were afraid that you’d let Tai and the others down if you couldn’t find us? You fell into a tunnel and the darkness that had tried to consume me earlier tried to consume you._ ”

“ _Oh_!” Sora gasped.

Keitsu and the others had no clue what the two teens were talking about, but it must have been serious if it got a reaction like that from the sweet looking redhead.

“ _You think this might be that same darkness?_ ” the older looking boy with the medical knowledge asked.

“ _I do_ ,” Matt said grimly. “ _It’s horrible. You feel as if the things you know you couldn’t control were your fault anyway. And that whatever dark feelings you hold onto only get darker until they feel like they’re about to consume you. Only someone really close to you can snap you out of it. I had Gabumon and Sora had Joe and I. If the kids won’t respond to their own Digimon then someone close to them or someone who can connect to them should try_.”

Keitsu and Mari traded frightened glances. What was going to consume their children? Would Ai and Mako be all right? If their own Digimon partner couldn’t help them like he should, then who could?

“ _I’ll do it. I’ve been babysitting them for a while so they know me pretty well. Maybe I can reach them. I lost my partner, so maybe they’ll listen to me_ ,” Jeri stated.

Keitsu and Mari held each other close as they watched Jeri kneel down next to their son and daughter, speaking gently and softly. Everyone watched her, hoping she’d be able to reach them. Tadashi even put a hand on Keitsu’s shoulder offering his support and prayers for the two young ones.

“ _Ai? Mako? Can you hear me?_ ” Jeri asked.

The two kids sobbed silently for a moment but didn’t reply. Mari started crying, fearing the worst. Keitsu rubbed her arm trying to comfort her, not allowing himself to feel any despair until it was all over.

“ _Can you hear me, Ai and Mako?_ ” Jeri tried again a little louder.

“ _…Yes, Miss Jeri_ ,” they finally responded.

Jeri looked up hopefully at the others. Rika even gave her an encouraging thumbs up. The watching parents all released breaths that they hadn’t even realized that they’d been holding.

“ _What’s wrong?_ ” Jeri asked them. “ _Why are you crying?_ ”

“ _Because it’s all our fault_ ,” Mako whimpered. “ _Impmon left us because we didn’t take care of him right._ ”

“ _We always fought over him_ ,” Ai added. “ _We hurt him, so he ran away_.”

“ _But he’s right here_ ,” Jeri said gently. “ _He came back, remember? He’s worried about you two. He wants to be with you._ ”

“ _Really?_ ” Mako asked, a dark shadow that had been looming over them seemed to lift, brightening his screen. “ _He’s not mad?_ ”

“ _No, he isn’t_ ,” Jeri smiled. “ _Listen to him._ ”

“ _Of course I’m not mad!_ ” Impmon sighed. “ _I’m your Digimon. I’m supposta look after yous guys. You’re the only family I have._ ”

Ai and Mako lifted their heads, saw that Impmon was really there and broke out into a fresh round of tears and hugged him between them. Their screens brightened considerably, making the parents wonder what had caused it and if the dim lighting had anything to do with this darkness that Matt had talked about. Mari leaned heavily against Keitsu in her relief. Ai and Mako appeared to be ok now and Jeri had found them.

“ _It was so scary!_ ” Ai gasped. “ _This voice kept telling us we were horrible Tamers and that we couldn’t take good care of you._ ”

“ _Yeah_ ,” Mako sobbed. “ _It said that you left us because you didn’t need us and that you were better off without us. That you left because we always fought._ ”

Impmon teared up and reassured them that he wasn’t going to leave them again and that they were the most important humans in his life. When Ai and Mako finally stopped crying, everyone started looking up and tilted their heads as if trying to hear something. The boy wearing a bandana – Keitsu couldn’t remember his name – apparently recognized the voice, and took off across Jeri’s channel and then Rika’s. Both girls, Ai and Mako, and everyone that could be seen in the background on the four channels turned and seemed to follow the boy.

“Now what?” Rumiko asked, her voice quivering.

Before anyone could answer her question, a blond woman with shortly cropped hair came rushing into the lounge.

“Daisy,” Seiko blinked. “What’s the matter? Is something wrong?”

“I’m not quite sure,” Daisy panted as she caught her breath. “But we’re getting weird readings from the Digital World and Yamaki’s requested Janyu’s presence. Do you know where he might be? His family’s suite of rooms perhaps? I can’t reach him on his cell.”

“He’s there,” Tadashi nodded. “He went to bed with his wife a few hours ago.”

“Thank you!” Daisy gasped, rushing off down the hall.

“What do you suppose…?” Mari whispered, taking Keitsu’s hand tightly in both of hers.

“Something big must be going down if they need Janyu,” Seiko frowned. “I only hope that it’s something good.”

“When is it ever though?” Tadashi frowned.

Daisy came back with a tired looking Janyu a moment later. Tadashi pursed his lips together when the two scientists didn’t speak and as they headed for the elevator he went after them. Rumiko followed the man’s lead and set off in an equally determined manner, her mother only seconds behind her.

“I’m going to see what’s going on,” Keitsu said grimly before leaving Mari with Shizue and Masahiko.

Daisy didn’t even try to stop the worried parents from following them into the elevator and up to the observation floor. Yamaki had technicians running around everywhere when they arrived.

“Try boosting different signals!” Yamaki ordered from the raised platform in the center of the room. “I want that transmission coming in to be clear. The Digimon Sovereign may have found a way to get in touch with us again.”

“Yamaki!” Janyu called out over the chaos. “What’s going on?”

“We’re receiving a transmission from the Digital World,” Yamaki reported. “Someone is trying to get in contact with us.”

“Sir! Signal’s been fixed!” someone yelled.

Yamaki and Janyu looked up. Keitsu couldn’t help but turn around and see that the big plasma screens were now all showing what appeared to be a large blue and gold armored being with golden wings.

“…What is that thing?” he breathed.

“Who are you?” Yamaki demanded just as some hippie looking man joined him and Janyu on the main deck of the observation platform.

“ _I am Seraphimon_ ,” the armored Digimon answered before his image on the screens began to fade in and out. “ _So this is the signal… traced from… …… …interfering… can’t … maintain… connection…long. I… from another… world. …Must …you that… children… at a …vantage… can’t digivolve… need a… Connection… breaking… must go… luck_.”

The connection broke and the signal faded.

“What was all that about?” Keitsu asked.

“No idea,” Tadashi frowned. “But I sure didn’t like the sound of it. It was obviously a warning.”

Keitsu looked nervously at the static snow on the screens. Technicians were running about again trying to follow Yamaki’s newest orders.

“Can’t digivolve,” Seiko muttered. “Something about our children’s Digimon not being able to digivolve.”

“But we already knew that,” Rumiko sighed. “None of the other children’s Digimon can digivolve either accept for those with that handy Armor Digivolving thing.”

Tadashi nodded.

“But I thought that the kids from our world needed those cards to accomplish that,” Keitsu spoke up, thinking back to Janyu’s explanation to how the children helped their Digimon partners fight.

“Yes,” Janyu said, coming over to join them with Shibumi and Yamaki at his side. “The children need cards to help their Digimon fight, but that function of their D-Power appears to be offline at the moment. Henry tried using it earlier, but it didn’t work.”

“Before, they used to need a special blue card to help activate the Digimon’s next DigiVolution,” Shibumi informed the parents and grandmother. “But after they’d activated that specific DigiVolution once they no longer needed the card to trigger that DigiVolution again.”

“Or the catalyst, Calumon,” Yamaki added, clicking his lighter absently.

“Or Calu-!” Janyu gasped. “Calumon! That’s it!”

Keitsu and the others looked at Janyu confusedly, but not Shibumi.

“Of course!” the strange executive cried. “Why didn’t we think of it before? For some reason Calumon wasn’t called to that Digital World! Then again, why would he be? He doesn’t have a human partner! He’s been with the Sovereign.”

“…Are any of you getting this?” Rumiko asked. “Because I’m not.”

“Mind letting us in on your epiphany you two?” Yamaki frowned.

“The answer to our problem is Calumon!” Shibumi beamed. “All we have to do is try to get in touch with the Sovereign and see if they’ll allow Calumon to come here! Then we can use Calumon to try and get in touch with the children or that Digimon Seraphimon. He’s been trying to get in touch with us for a while now and seems to be aware of what’s going on. Maybe he can help us find a way to bring the children home!”

“Even if that’s true, if you’ve got communications problems between our world and the Digital World then how are you going to get in touch with the Sovereign?” Seiko asked skeptically.

“We’ll try to get a message to them telling them to try using Calumon’s catalyst abilities to boost their output signal,” Janyu explained. “We can’t send any video transmissions, but a small message might be able to get through. Just because we haven’t gotten any reply back from them, doesn’t mean that the Sovereign haven’t been receiving anything from our end.”

“Couldn’t they have tried using this Calumon already?” Keitsu asked worriedly. “If he’s this strong catalyst thing that can boost powers and such, wouldn’t that have been the first thing they would have tried?”

“It’s a long shot,” Yamaki sighed, clicking his lighter nervously. “But it’s better than just standing here. We’ll just have to hope that they’ve over looked Calumon’s abilities like we had and that this plan works. Get on it, Janyu.”

“Right away,” Janyu nodded and took off with Daisy.

“And if it doesn’t work?” Rumiko asked.

“…Then we’re back at square one,” Yamaki sighed. “But at least we’ll have tried that option. I’m sure something will work itself out in the end. When it comes to those kids something usually does.”

“Lets hope so,” Tadashi frowned looking up at the empty screens. “For the their sake.”

Everyone nodded grimly.

~*~*~*~*~*~

I hope Yamaki's right too, Tadashi. Will Hypnos be able to get a message through to the Sovereign? Find out next time on Digimon: Digital Monsters!


	7. Chapter 6: Deceptions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously on Digimon: Digital Monsters...
> 
> Keitsu and Mari Fukazawa (Ai and Mako’s parents) waited with the Katou family, and Rumiko and Seiko Makino and watched the group of DigiDestined find Ai and Mako. Daisy comes up searching for Janyu soon after and they find out that Seraphimon (from Frontier) has been trying to get in touch with Hypnos, but something cuts out his transmission. Janyu and Shibumi then come to the realization that Calumon, as an amplifier, may be the solution to reaching their children and plans are put into action to attempt to reach the Sovereign once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place solely in the Frontier DigiDestined's Digital World and the main POV is in Tomoko Kimura's POV. Enjoy! and PLEASE REVIEW! TTwTT
> 
> I DO NOT OWN DIGIMON ADVENTURE 02, TAMERS, FRONTIER OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS!

** The Frontier Digital World: Location: The Celestial Digimon’s Castle **

It had been a couple of hours since the events that had happened in the Light Chamber and now the parents of the Frontier DigiDestined were sitting in the lounge half of the Unification Hall. Tomoko Kimura was chatting away happily with Satomi Minamoto, telling her all about Koichi while Kosei Minamoto sat on the other side of the room with the other fathers who’d taken pity on the man. If you’d asked Yutaka Himi to describe the events that had led to this rather unusual arrangement, he would have said that Kosei had been “banished” from the two women’s presence temporarily. Tomoko had been furious to learn that Kosei had told Koji that his birth mother (i.e. her) had died to explain her absence from his life. Satomi had been just as appalled by the extent of the lie and had chewed him out as well, much to Yutaka’s and Shinya Kanbara’s amusement and the other parents’ discomfort.

Apparently Satomi had been told that Tomoko had left Kosei and had taken off somewhere. She was also upset that Kosei had failed to mention that Koji was a twin. Both women were obviously very sweet and normally good-natured so Yutaka thought it was rather funny to see them attempt to curse Kosei out while somehow maintaining their good manners. If you were to ask Yutaka, he would have said that it was like watching two nuns trying to curse out the devil. He didn’t know Koji Minamoto that well, but he was sure that the scene would have amused him and his twin. Yutaka and Shinya even recorded a portion of the argument on Yutaka’s cell phone as evidence.

Both Ophanimon and Seraphimon had left earlier to attend to business of some kind, so the families were free to converse and adjust to this new world that they found themselves in. The TV monitors had been left on, but since nothing serious had happened since that Davis kid’s shoulder had been reset the parents had decided to mingle and get to know each other. They figured that they’d be spending a lot of time together so they might as well get acquainted. All the fathers were mingling in front of the fireplace chatting about sports or their jobs. Around a coffee table Yutaka was teaching Shinya how to play some kind of card game. Yuriko Kanbara, Bianca Orimoto, Ami Himi and Jackie Shibayama were sitting around a window seat looking out on the castle grounds and the Digimon below. They were getting to know each other separate from Tomoko and Satomi so that the two could chat alone and become friends since they shared sons. The parents were all so absorbed in their own conversations that they would have missed what was happening with their missing children if Yutaka and Shinya hadn’t called their attention to the screens.

“Koji’s on the move!” Yutaka called out.

“He looks like he’s in a real hurry too,” Shinya added.

Everyone hurried over to the tables and watched Koji skid to a halt in front of what looked like a wall of fog. He looked down at the weird device he was holding in his hand before rushing at the fog, but JP had come up from behind and stopped him.

“ _Let me go!_ ” Koji snarled. “ _My brother’s in there!_ ”

How Koji knew that, none of those watching could tell, but it made Satomi and Tomoko trade worried glances.

“ _Cool it, Koji!_ ” JP said calmly. “ _You have to think first. We don’t know what’s in there with him. Let’s think about this first_.”

“ _There doesn’t appear to be any other life form readings inside_ ,” an older boy with a laptop computer mused. “ _It should be alright to go in there, but I suggest that only a small group go in while everyone else waits here. If those who go in need help then we can send in back up. Whoever goes in can communicate with me through their digivice_.”

“ _I’ll go in_ ,” the older blond from earlier – Matt – volunteered. “ _I have experience with this darkness and have overcome it. I may be of some help in there_.”

“ _Well I’m going too_ ,” stated the young redheaded girl – Rika if Tomoko remembered right.

“ _I’ll go too_ ,” JP nodded. “ _You’re going to need a friend on this one Koji. I know I’m not Takuya, but I have a little experience in this area myself_.”

As JP said this, his screen popped up next to Koji’s and those that had been up during the fiasco in the Light Chamber. On his own channel, Davis could been seen getting off his Digimon’s back and it seemed that TK and Kari were trying to stop him, but he ignored them. His Digimon shrank into a smaller form and jogged alongside the boy.

“ _I’m going too_ ,” Davis stated. “ _I have a feeling that Ken is in there and I’m going in after him_.”

“ _Davis, you’re still hurt from your shoulder being dislocated_ ,” the medic who’d reset the boy’s arm – Joe – reminded him gently.

“ _I don’t care_ ,” Davis said stubbornly. “ _Who else here has a better chance then I do of snapping Ken out of whatever darkness he’s wrapped up with in there? You know I’m the only one who can! We’re best friends and I was the only one who accepted him right after he stopped being the Digimon Emperor. If he’s reliving that in there then I’m going to be the only one that’ll be able to get through to him and you know it!_ ”

What Davis was saying about this Ken kid was lost on the watching families in the Frontier (and Tamers) universe, but it sounded serious. The boy may have been injured but he seemed to have a strong case.

“ _He’s right about that_ ,” the computer boy sighed. “ _Davis is the only one we know of that has a good chance of getting Ken out of there_.”

“ _But we don’t even know if he_ is _in there_!” Kari cried out of concern for her injured friend.

“ _Actually, we do_ ,” the computer boy disagreed. “ _There is one orange and one yellow digivice signal in there with the red and blue. Ken is the only one missing that would have an orange digivice signal. I’m betting Willace is the yellow one due to the fact that there has been a theme to the chambers and whom we find in them. The DigiDestined in this chamber have a connection with Darkness. If Gabumon weren’t a Digimon with a light attribute like Gatomon, Patamon, and Renamon, then Matt would have most likely ended up in this chamber due to his history with darkness. Willace lost Kokomon to a virus years ago. I’d call that having a past connected with darkness. That is what makes me believe that he is in there as well. Tai’s too optimistic for this place anyways_.”

“ _Then there’s no doubt that that’s Koichi in there_ ,” Koji muttered.

Tomoko and Satomi shared another concerned glance. A connection to darkness? Just what had happened to Koichi when he’d come to the Digital World that first time that would make Koji say that?

“ _If we’re going on personality and history here_ ,” a tan boy with dark blue hair said, “ _Then there’s no way its Takato. The only one it can be is Ryo. We don’t know what happened to him that year he was trapped in the Digital World alone. I bet that’s why he’s here. Something bad must have happened to him during that time. Something so bad that he’s forgotten all about it_.”

That didn’t sound too good either. Just what had happened to those kids that caused them to end up in this dark fog?

“ _Well what are we waiting for?_ ” Davis exclaimed. “ _Who cares why they’re here? The point is, is that they need our help to get out!_ ”

“ _I’ll monitor you guys from out here_ ,” the computer boy said, clipping a headset onto his left ear, and lowered the microphone to his lips. “ _I’ll communicate with you through Matt’s digivice and you all can communicate with me through your own digivice as I guide you through. Just give me a second to get a readout on the fog…_ ”

Everyone waited as the older kid clicked away at his computer before giving the thumbs up.

Koji nodded and together he, Matt, Davis, Rika and JP entered the dense fog with their Digimon. As they did so the large screen got rid of any unnecessary channels so that it could focus on the five channels of those headed into the fog and even pulled up the channel that was focused on Koichi who was huddled up in a fetal position. It didn’t seem to matter much though since the fog was so thick and dark that the screens blacked out so no one could see the five children, but the audio appeared to be working just fine.

“ _Izzi to Matt_ ,” a slightly distorted voice buzzed. “ _Can you read me, Matt?_ ”

“ _Loud and clear_ ,” Matt’s voice answered. “ _It’s pitch black in here Izzi. Where should we go?_ ”

There was a pause and the fuzzy distorted sound of typing before this Izzi finally answered. Tomoko figured that Izzi was the computer boy’s name.

“ _The nearest signal is to your left. Make sure you’re all there and head approximately ten steps in that direction_.”

For the next couple of minutes there was only the sound of breathing and the muted scuffle of feet until the screens suddenly cleared and the five became visible to viewers once more. The fog appeared to have abruptly ended and open up to a small clearing in the fog bank where Koichi could be seen in the other children’s channel’s backgrounds. He was holding his head now and was surrounded in a dark aura that darkened his screen.

“ _Koichi_!” Koji cried as he rushed to his twin’s side. The others were right behind him.

“ _Koichi_!” Koji called out again as he grabbed his brother’s shoulders and tried to get his twin to look at him.

“ _I never told him_ ,” Koichi whispered. “ _I never got the chance to confront him. I never got to introduce myself to Koji_.”

“ _But I’m right here, Koichi_ ,” Koji cried. “ _You did! We met!_ ”

The Frontier parents, Yutaka and Shinya traded confused expressions. Just what was going on?

“ _It’s the same as Ai and Mako_ ,” Rika mused. “ _The person or Digimon involved in the dark illusion can’t reach the one trapped by it._ ”

“ _He can’t hear me_ ,” Koji whispered, the shock evident on his stricken face.

JP put a hand on Koji’s shoulder and kneeled down next to him.

“ _Maybe not, but maybe I can_ ,” the older boy said gently before focusing on Koichi. “… _Koichi? Can you here me pal?_ ”

Koichi remained silent.

Tomoko and Satomi held each other’s hands tightly. They weren’t sure what was wrong with Koichi, but it appeared to be serious. Kosei joined them and place a hand on one of their shoulders. Former anger forgotten and united in concern for their sons, the three parents of the twins waited, praying that Koichi would snap out of whatever was happening to him.

“ _...att! ….Matt!_ ” buzzed Izzi’s voice.

Matt yanked out some sort of device from his pocket. It was different from Koji’s.

“ _What’s up, Izzi?_ ”

“ _Get out of there! There’s a huge energy surge coming Koichi’s digivice! I think that he’s the source of this dark fog!_ ”

The darkness that had enveloped Koichi suddenly gathered around him and grew larger. JP grabbed Koji and pulled him away from his twin as a dark figure began to form behind Koichi. It looked like a man in a terrifying Halloween costume. He was wearing black and red armor with a skull and eyeball theme. His appearance alone sent shivers down the observing families’ spines. Shinya even retreated into his mother’s arms.

“Who is that?” Tomoko gasped.

“ _Duskmon!_ ” JP and Koji’s voices gasped as if to answer her question.

“ _Who?!_ ” the other three children cried out.

There was more of that clicking sound that indicated that the Izzi kid was using his computer. If anyone had actually been looking at Izzi’s channel that was playing on one of the smaller TV monitors they would have seen him pull up the profile information on the gruesome monster behind Koichi.

“ _Duskmon_ ,” Izzi’s voice mused. “ _Uh oh. He’s a champion level Dark Spirit Digimon that can transform other Digimon’s regrets into dark energy. He’s an expert swordsman with blades that extend from his forearms. The source of his power is sealed in his armor’s seven eyeballs. His attacks are Deadly Gaze and Lunar Plasma. You better be careful guys_.”

Tomoko didn’t like the sound of this guy at all and neither did Satomi or any or the other parents. They all waited for something to happen with this creature’s appearance but this Duskmon wasn’t even moving. The doors to the Unification Hall burst open and Ophanimon glided quickly into the room.

“I was hoping that we’d seen the last of that creature,” the angel Digimon said grimly.

“Who is this Duskmon?” Kosei asked.

“He is the warped and evil half of the Human Warrior Spirit of Darkness,” Ophanimon informed them. “After the spirits of Darkness were purified and given to Koichi I thought that that would be the end of him.”

Before Kosei could ask for more information, Duskmon began to talk in a low and chilly voice to Koichi.

“ _But you did Koichi. Remember? I gave you the chance. It was the darkness in your heart that summoned me. Your so-called twin was living happily with your father and his new stepmother. He left you and your mother to suffer alone. Why should Koji live happily while your mother suffers?_ ”

“ _No_ ,” Koichi whimpered.

Tomoko and Satomi and Kosei exchanged bewildered looks. What? Is that what Koichi believed? Satomi had never met the boy – hell she hadn’t even known about him until getting on that train to the Digital World – but even so, she couldn’t help but feel guilty for whatever it was that was causing this boy’s suffering at the hands of this demonic creature.

“ _You were going to confront him. Do you remember what happened next?_ ” Duskmon asked.

In the background there were images that were beginning to form in the darkness. Koichi and Koji were far apart on the train. Koji getting into the elevator and Takuya just barley making it inside. Koichi in front of the closed elevator doors. Koichi running down the stairs. Koichi was falling. Darkness.

The last picture of Koichi’s horrible fall scared Tomoko. When had this happened? She began to shake so Satomi and Kosei held her close to offer her any comfort that they could.

Meanwhile, Duskmon was starting to look more substantial.

“ _You remember, don’t you?_ ” the evil Digimon asked.

“ _Yes_ ,” Koichi cried. “ _But I also remember meeting Koji. We became close. Even after we returned from the Digital World. He met mother. I was going to meet father soon. He still doesn’t know about us._ ”

The three parents traded sad looks.

Duskmon chuckled.

“ _What a wonderful dream you’ve been having_.”

“ _Dream?_ ” Koichi gasped.

“ _Don’t listen to him, Koichi!_ ” Koji cried out, restrained by JP again.

“ _You fell remember? You were never physically in the Digital World. You died from your fall._ ”

These lies that the evil Digimon was feeding Koichi made Tomoko sob. Why would someone tear someone down like that? Why was this creature doing this to her son?

“ _No…_ ” Koichi chocked. “ _No, I woke up. Koji was there_.”

“ _Wake up!_ ” Duskmon shouted. “ _You’re living in a dream_.”

“ _No!_ ” Koichi cried, covering his ears.

“ _Stop lying to him, Duskmon!_ ” Koji roared.

Suddenly Koji’s strange device lit up and the dark fog behind him took on a form as well. Like Duskmon, this Digimon had a human shape, but his armor was a dark steel-grey and had a lion theme. His chest, shoulder, and knee plates were lion heads. Even his facemask was a lion’s head with a full golden yellow main of hair.

“Löwemon,” Koji and JP gasped.

The new arrival ignored their outburst and made his way over to the troubled Koichi.

“ _Be strong, Koichi_ ,” he said in the same low voice as Duskmon, but he sounded kinder and strong. “ _You know Duskmon lies. The bond you share with your twin is even stronger. Don’t let him convince you otherwise._ ”

Koichi looked up at this new arrival.

“ _I know_ ,” he smiled sadly.

“ _The Spirit of Darkness is a greater burden to bear than any of the other Legendary Warrior Spirits. There is a fine line to walk and many times that line is blurred. It is easy to forget and lose your way, but do not lose faith. Light, your brother and twin, is always there by your side to help you. Never forget that he is there and so am I. As your true spirit guardian, in your hands darkness does not have to be evil_.”

The dark barrier around Koichi shrank, lightening his screen, but it did not disappear entirely.

Duskmon glowered at Löwemon.

“ _We are two sides of the same coin_ ,” he growled. “ _Darkness and Light may be brothers, but we are twins. The same element, split in two aspects; two faces_.”

“ _Be that as it may, Koichi is a chosen child and represents the pure darkness that is neither good nor evil. He shapes his own path_ ,” Löwemon stated.

“ _The ideals of a hero_ ,” Duskmon scoffed. “ _There is no such thing as a neutral. He will either become good or evil. Darkness is an evil element. There is no getting around that. Why do you think their resistors suffer until they give in? The darkness will consume this child and there is nothing you, Löwemon, can do to stop it. I will become his true spirit guardian once again_.”

Those words chilled Tomoko and the Minamotos to the bone. …Koichi was going to become evil?

“ _Not if I can help it_ ,” Koji retorted, standing beside his brother between him and Duskmon.

“ _You can’t be by his side forever, boy_ ,” Duskmon guffawed. “ _He will be pushed to the edge and not even you will be able to save him when he falls_.”

“ _Enough_ ,” Koichi murmured in such a low voice that it was almost a whisper over the speakers. “ _To toy with me and mess with my head is tolerable, but_ never _threaten Koji. That is something I won’t stand for_.”

The boy stood by his twin and glared at Duskmon.

“ _Löwemon_ ,” he called softly, the dark aura seeping into his person. “ _Lend me your strength once again_.”

“ _With pride and pleasure_ ,” the warrior Digimon bowed and dissipated into dark particles that entered Koichi’s black pulsing device.

“ _I’m sorry I made you worry, Koji_ ,” Koichi smiled. “ _I’m back_.”

Koji’s returning smile was relieved making their parents feel some relief as well.

“ _Now leave this nightmare to me_ ,” Koichi said, returning his attention to Duskmon.

“What?” gasped Tomoko.

“Koichi is strong,” Ophanimon said gently. “Believe in your son. His powers may be that of darkness, but in his hands those powers are good. He will not succumb to evil so long as his heart does not waver and finds strength and comfort in his twin and friends.”

“ _If he destroys the illusion, the fog should dissipate_ ,” Izzi’s voice said over the speakers. “ _It should end whatever nightmares the other DigiDestined trapped in there are having as well_.”

“ _You two got all that?_ ” Matt called over to the twins as he had JP, Davis, and Rika join him. “ _Go, Gabumon_ ,” the blond said to his Digimon.

“ _Give them a hand, Veemon_ ,” Davis nodded at his Digimon.

“ _You too, Renamon_ ,” Rika ordered hers.

“ _Right!_ ” the three Digimon cheered, but when they moved forward to fight, they suddenly slumped in a heap.

“ _I feel weird_ ,” Gabumon moaned.

“ _I’m pooped_ ,” Veemon sighed.

“ _I can’t move_ ,” Renamon grunted. “ _Something has zapped our strength_.”

“It appears that Duskmon doesn’t wish for any outward interference,” Ophanimon mused. “Those Digimon are aligned with Light and won’t be able to fight in that fog bank of Duskmon’s.”

“You mean Koichi’s alone in this fight?” Kosei growled.

“But what about JP and Koji?” Satomi said desperately. “Surely they can do something to help!”

“They could,” Ophanimon nodded. “But I doubt Koichi will let them. The boy has to conquer his own demons if he wishes to move on from the deeds he blames himself for during his previous adventure in this Digital World.”

“ _Hey, Koji!_ ” JP’s voice suddenly called out from the speakers. “ _Do you and Koichi think you can handle it on your own or could you use my help?_ ”

Before Koji could answer, Koichi spoke.

“ _That’s not necessary, but thank you, JP_ ,” he said. “ _I can handle my own demons. Leave this to me. Please join the others, Koji_.”

Koji looked like he was about to argue, but after a moment he nodded.

“No,” Tomoko gasped. “Koji… Please… Help him.”

“He won’t,” Ophanimon stated. “Though Duskmon has spoken nothing but lies, he has been right about one thing. There will come a time when Koji can’t be by Koichi’s side to aid him in a fight. If he helps then Koichi won’t grow into his own as a warrior like the others have. This is something that Koichi has to do on his own.”

“ _Go for it_ ,” Koji told his twin before joining JP and the other three.

“ _How’s he going to fight Duskmon without a Digimon partner?_ ” Rika asked when Koji reached them.

That was a good question. The watching parents had noticed that all the children but theirs appeared to be accompanied by a Digimon partner.

“ _That’s the thing about us_ ,” JP said, looking sidelong at Koji.

“ _We don’t need a Digimon partner_ ,” Koji stated simply. “ _We are our_ own _partners_.”

Koichi held out his black device in his right hand. He raised it above his head and then, as if in a trance, he closed his eyes and moved his device holding hand down to his side while simultaneously moving his left hand up. When his left palm was stretched out above his head, he opened his eyes and looked up at his raised hand as a glowing ring appeared. Closing his eyes in trance again, he switched the orientation of his hands, only to suddenly open his eyes and bring both hands in front of him. He clashed his device with the swirling ring, creating sparks between the two.

“ _Execute! Spirit Evolution!_ ” Koichi cried as he ripped the device away from the ring dragging it out in a long ribbon stream that stretched and circled above his head. He was enveloped in a white light as his body’s outline glowed and shadows began to swirl around him. The ring that had circled above his head cocooned around his body and when he emerged he was Löwemon wielding a spear and shield.

The families watching gasped.

“Koichi?” Tomoko whispered, afraid. “…Is that really Koichi?”

“…It is,” Ophanimon nodded. “All of your children hold in their possession one of ten elemental Legendary Warrior spirits. Löwemon is Koichi’s Spirit Warrior Guardian of Darkness and his Warrior form.”

“ _Go get him_ ,” Koji and JP’s voices echoed through the speakers.

As if responding to their wish, the newly evolved Koichi spun his spear above his head, letting it gain momentum.

“ _Let’s end this!_ ” he said firmly in a voice that was no longer his own, but Löwemon’s. It was this that scared Tomoko most. Was that really her son? Was he really in this… Digimon? Was Koichi even in there? Was he even Koichi anymore?

“ _If you wish_ ,” Duskmon answered ominously.

“ _Shadow Lance!_ ” Löwemon cried, dashing forward and brought his spear down in a forward thrust.

“ _Lunar Plasma_ ,” Duskmon rasped, raising his swords and then lowered them as he rushed, slicing, at Löwemon.

The two attacks sent up a large cloud of dust that caused all the screens to black out momentarily, but the sounds of the fight echoed and clanged ominously around the space. When the dust finally settled the two Warriors of Darkness could be seen clashing swords, shield and spear and neither seemed to be gaining the upper hand. They split apart and then called out their next attack.

“ _Deadly Gaze!_ ”

“ _Shadow Meteor!_ ”

Powerful red and purple blasts of energy flew in all directions, shredding the fog bank around them. Davis, Matt, and Rika rushed off somewhere while JP and Koji rejoined the group that had been waiting outside the fog barrier. The other three soon rejoined them with three other boys and their Digimon partners. Everyone was now watching the ongoing battle between the two dark Digimon.

“ _Who are they?_ ” asked a blond boy who could now be seen on Matt’s channel.

“ _The creepy one is Duskmon_ ,” Zoe answered grimly. “ _He’s bad news_.”

“ _The other is my brother_ ,” Koji explained to the others. “ _JP, Tommy, Zoe, Takuya, Koichi and I all possess one of the Ten Legendary Warrior Spirits from our version of the Digital World. Each spirit represents one of ten elements. As you can see, my twin is the holder of the Warrior Spirits of Darkness_.”

A few of the others’ expressions darkened and it made Tomoko nervous for Koichi. Satomi and Kosei also didn’t like the expressions some of the other children wore.

“ _So is he your evil twin?_ ” TK asked grimly.

Tomoko pursed her lips at the question. How could he ask such a question to the one that had helped save him?

“ _Doubt it_ ,” Davis grimaced. “ _You didn’t see him in action_.”

“ _No, he’s not evil_ ,” Tommy giggled then paused to think over what he’d said. “ _Well… at least not any more. He was evil when we first met him_.”

This shocked the watching parents. So… Koichi _had_ been evil at some point?

“ _But he was misguided and being controlled by an evil Digimon back then_ ,” Zoe said in Koichi’s defense. “ _When he used to be possessed by the warped and tainted Spirit of Darkness he was Duskmon. Takuya and Koji defeated him eventually and then he became a good guy. He even sacrificed himself to save us in our final battle in the Digital World_.”

“ _Is that what Duskmon meant when he said Koichi died?_ ” Davis asked Koji.

Possessed? Sacrificed? This was becoming a little too much for Tomoko. She suddenly felt weak and needed to sit in a chair. Satomi helped her, taking a seat herself. Kosei remained standing though, and placed his hands on the backs of their chairs.

“ _No_ ,” Koji sighed, watching as his twin and Duskmon started trading blows at close range with their weapons again. “ _Koichi didn’t come to the Digital World the same way the rest of us did. We rode a Trailmon there. He …fell down the stairs that led to the basement level of Shibuya train station when he missed the elevator that he tried to follow me on. In the real world, he went into a coma but his consciousness somehow crossed over to the Digital plain. A warped and evil Digimon known as Cherubimon twisted the darkness within Koichi’s sadness and despair, and turned those emotions against him before erasing his memory. He gave Koichi the tainted versions of the spirits of Darkness that turned him into Duskmon. Takuya and I battled him and together we managed to defeat him. With Lady Ophanimon’s help his memories were restored_.”

The parents glanced at Ophanimon upon hearing this. The angel Digimon smiled gently at Tomoko and rested a hand over her clasped ones.

“ _Like Zoe said_ ,” Koji continued, “ _he became himself again and fought alongside us all as we took on the next evil Digimon, Lucemon, and his cronies. In the final battle, Koichi sacrificed himself to save us. …I thought he had died since it was his spirit and not his body that had come to the Digital World. After that battle on our way home, the spirit of Löwemon told me that Koichi was still alive. We rushed to the hospital, but he was unresponsive and his heart had stopped beating…_ ”

Koji had to stop for a moment.

“ _You have no idea how horrible I felt_ ,” he choked. “ _To suddenly find out that I had a brother. A twin! Only to lose him once in the Digital World, receive hope that he was still alive in our world, only to lose him again anyway. To never know who he was. But that was when our D-Tectors came to life. Koichi woke up and the D-Tectors reverted back into the cell phones that they had been before we came to the Digital World. Koichi and I got a second chance_.”

“ _You didn’t know each other?_ ” Matt asked.

Tomoko and Kosei traded guilty looks. If they’d simply told their sons about the other twin, would what had happened to Koichi have been less severe? Could this have all been avoided?

“ _Koji and Kochi’s parents divorced soon after they were born_ ,” JP explained. “ _They didn’t even know that they had a twin living with the other parent_.”

“ _My dad got remarried_ ,” Koji said. “ _Dad told me that Mom was dead. I rebelled and used to be rude to my stepmother. In reality Mom was just really frail and sick. She raised Kochi by herself and he worked very hard to keep her healthy. When his – our – grandmother died she told Koichi about me. He did exactly what I would have done. He found me and wanted to meet me_.”

Reminded of the atrocious lie, Satomi glanced up at Kosei who had the decency to avoid eye contact. At least the man felt guilty for his mistakes.

“ _One day we all got messages on our cell phones to go to the Shibuya train station to seek out our destinies_ ,” Zoe said, staring at her device.

“ _I’ve been wondering that_ ,” JP mused. “ _When did our cell phones turn back into D-Tectors?_ ”

“ _Probably when we arrived here_ ,” Zoe shrugged. “ _We need our D-Tectors more then our cell phones here, JP_.”

“ _I suppose so_ ,” JP chuckled.

“ _Koichi!_ ” Koji cried, brining everyone’s attention back to the fight on Koichi’s screen.

Löwemon had been slammed into a wall, but had sent Duskmon flying in the opposite direction.

“ _Slide Evolution!_ ” Löwemon cried before the cocoon of light surrounded him again and emerged as a black mechanical lion with guns embedded in his shoulders, legs and back. This new form worried Tomoko even more than the pervious one had. This one wasn’t even remotely human. Could Koichi really be in there?

“ _All right! He’s slid into his Beast Spirit form,_ _JägerLöwemon_ ,” Koji grinned.

“ _Beast Spirit form?_ ” a boy on Davis’ screen asked.

“ _All of our warrior spirits have two forms: a human form and a beast form_ ,” Koji explained. “ _Löwemon is the warrior spirit’s human form. JägerLöwemon is his beast form_.”

JägerLöwemon readied his guns and took aim.

“ _Dark Master!_ ” he called out as his cannon launched dark energy bursts at Duskmon before he could get up. When the dust settled, Duskmon was nowhere to be found. After a moment of silence, Koichi reverted back to his human self and slumped against the chamber’s wall.

“ _Koichi_!” Koji cried, rushing to his brother’s side.

“ _I’m alright_ ,” Koichi sighed with the hint of a smile. “ _Just worn out_.”

Koji let out a relieved sigh of his own, making his twin chuckle.

“ _Relax, Koji. Next time, feel free to jump in_ ,” Koichi smiled good-naturedly as if he was talking about a swim session.

“ _That was amazing!_ ” Davis cried. “ _I’ve never seen anything like it_.”

“ _None of us have_ ,” Izzi corrected him.

The other children then began to go on and on about Koichi’s transformation and how he’d fought Duskmon, so the Frontier parents decided that the children were safe enough at the moment so that they could ask Ophanimon questions without worrying about missing something.

“So all of our children have one of those spirit guardian things?” Yuriko Kanbara asked.

“Yes,” Ophanimon nodded. “Takuya is the Warrior of Fire and possesses the spirits Agunimon and BurningGreymon. Koji is the opposite of his twin, Koichi. He holds the Spirits of Light: Lobomon and KendoGarurumon. Zoe is the Warrior of Wind with the spirits Kazemon and Zephyrmon. JP is the Warrior of Thunder and uses the spirits Beetlemon and MetalKabuterimon. And lastly there’s Tommy and his Warrior Spirits of Ice, Kumamon and Korikakumon. Each spirit is unique and has it’s own powers over the element that they’ve been given allegiance with. Takuya and Koji in particular have exceptionally strong bonds with their spirits and have more than the standard human and beast form that the others have available to them.”

“So does that mean Takuya and Koji are some kind of super fighters?” Shinya asked, thinking that the whole transformation thing was cool.

“In a sense, yes,” Ophanimon laughed. “They both have the ability to combine their two guardian spirits into a third fusion form. Also, between the two of them, Koji and Takuya can each wield five of the ten Warrior’s spirits each and use them to become even stronger. In fact, that mural that is painted on the walls in the hall actually depicts the first time they ever executed the Unified Spirit Evolution to attain those forms.”

“This is all so confusing,” Bianca groaned. “Spirit guardians, children turning into these Digimon creatures-!”

“Is it safe?” Tomoko demanded, cutting off Bianca before she could go into a full rant. “Do these transformations do anything to our children when they become these creatures?”

Everyone looked up at Ophanimon expectantly.

“No,” Ophanimon shook her head, understanding their concern. “If anything they are even safer in those forms. The Guardian Spirits take on most the damage that is inflicted on them in battle, so the spirits act as a kind of shield. It takes strong hearts to use the spirits, but all of your children have proven themselves capable. I would not worry too much about them.”

“Wait!” Yuriko cried out. “When you say that it takes a strong heart to wield those spirit guardian things-!”

“I only meant that it takes a strong will,” Ophanimon sighed. “…However, pushing the spirits to their limit or using their powers excessively can put a strain on their human bodies and tire them out. …You worry for your son, Mrs. Kanbara. Even more so than the others.”

“…Takuya was diagnosed with an advanced case of lung cancer recently,” Yuriko said sadly, hugging Shinya closer to her as if she’d lose him.

Tomoko and many others gasped. The single mother felt for Yuriko. Tomoko had her own heath issues but had managed to hang on and made it through so far, but during her stays at local clinics and hospitals for treatments she’d come to know many others with their own conditions. A few of them had been cancer patients and she knew what kind of treatments they went through. …But she’d only known one of them that had survived and beat their cancer.

“…I’m afraid there is very little I can say to ease your worries,” Ophanimon said sadly. “How Takuya uses his spirits is up to him. There is very little that I can do to help, I’m afraid.”

Yuriko nodded.

“ _Hey!_ ” a voice suddenly called out from the speakers.

Everyone returned their attention to the screen and saw a tall teen with a head of bushy brown hair. A yellow dinosaur Digimon was following him with two other human boys and a rather large red dinosaur Digimon. Takuya was one of the two boys and was grinning from ear to ear, apparently unharmed.

“ _Hey, Tai!_ ” Davis called back to the oldest of the three latecomers as he rushed to meet them.

“ _What happened to your arm, Davis?_ ” Tai asked as he eyed the younger boy’s sling and the ice pack strapped onto his shoulder.

“ _Ah, well_ ,” Davis spluttered, “ _I kinda dislocated my shoulder. But don’t worry! Joe fixed me up_.”

Tai frowned, but it was a concerned frown. “ _Are you alright?_ ”

“ _Sure he is!_ ” Davis’ Digimon cried, taking his place at Davis’ side. “ _He’s got me!_ ”

Tai laughed. “ _He sure does_.”

The older teen looked around, seeing the damage to the walls from Koichi’s battle with Duskmon and the large group of DigiDestined before him.

“ _Whoa, Izzi, what’d I miss?_ ” he asked.

The large group than began to introduce, re-explain and retell the events of everything that had happed so that everyone was on the same page and of the same understanding. The watching families were grateful for this recap of events since it provided them with the names of all the children and helped explain what was going on. It appeared that all the children were finally together. Now all that needed to happen was for the children to find a way home, but that was wishful thinking on the parents’ part. It was going to be a long time before any of them got to see their children in person again.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Whoa. Well... at least everyone's all together now, right? But if the parents are worrying about the transformations... how are they going to handle the events that are still to come? Find out next time on Digimon: Digital Monsters!


	8. Chapter 7: Plans of Action

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously on Digimon: Digital Monsters...
> 
> The Frontier parents got to know each other a bit before the latest emergency occured with their children. Tomoko, Kosei and Satomi all watched worriedly, and Kosei and Tomoko experienced flashes of guilt when Koji and Koichi’s story came to light. The parents express their concerns for their children in regard to the Warrior Spirit partners. All of the children have come together though, so the families take the time to relax before the next reason to worry occurs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is chapter 7! It's the first cross dimensional chapter since the prologue i think. :P We finally get into some action that's away from the original story line (UGotD). This chapter takes place in all the worlds in POVs of those with the plans i.e. Gennai, Yamaki and Janyu, and the three Celestial Digimon. Well I won't keep you waiting any longer! I hope you like this chapter and that you PLEASE review!
> 
> I DO NOT OWN DIGIMON ADVENTURE 02, TAMERS, FRONTIER OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS!

** The Adventure Digital World: Location: Gennai’s Base **

Gennai was alone at the moment typing away at the keyboard hooked up to his supercomputer. He was running scans over every inch of the Digital World.

“There must be some place…” the digital man muttered to himself as he launched another scan. He was so preoccupied with his work that he didn’t hear the door open.

“Gennai,” a voice called out to him. “You’ll work yourself to data bits of you don’t stop and take a break soon.

“I will, Harry,” Gennai sighed. “In a minute though. I’m almost finished.”

“You said that three hours ago,” his friend chuckled.

Gennai pursed his lips, knowing that the other was right, but just couldn’t seem to tear himself away from the screen. He had this feeling that if he waited long enough…

BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!

“What the hell?!” Harry cried, rushing further into the room to join Gennai by the supercomputer’s console.

“Finally!” Gennai sighed with relief as he tried to zero in on what the scans had finally picked up. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”

“What’d you find?” Harry asked.

“…Just give me a nano sec,” Gennai muttered.

“I’ll even give you three.” Harry smiled.

“…Found it!” Gennai grinned.

“Found what?”

“The break we’ve been waiting for,” Gennai smiled. “We haven’t been able to break through this communications blackout that we’re in, so I thought that if I could find just one spot in the Digital World where that signal blockage isn’t as strong…”

“We might be able to get through to the other worlds!” Harry whooped.

“Precisely,” Gennai nodded. “And my scans have just picked up a weak spot that we might be able to use.”

“Where?” Harry asked, looking at the screen as Gennai pulled up the location.

“…At the highest peak of File Island’s Infinite Mountain,” Gennai mused.

“The highest peak in the Digital World…” Harry sighed. “It won’t be easy getting the necessary equipment up there.”

“Indeed,” Gennai nodded. “But no one said that any of this was going to be easy.”

“Touché,” Harry nodded. “Well done, Gennai. This will lighten the mood significantly. Any hope that we can give those families is better than all the bad news they’ve had so far.”

“Then lets not keep them waiting any longer,” Gennai smiled, saving the important data onto a disc and hurried for the door with Harry right behind him.

The two digital men raced excitedly down hallways and staircases towards the housing section of the base to the wing that had been cleared for the families. Only Hiroaki Ishida was awake when they finally arrived.

“What’s going on, Gennai?” Hiroaki asked when they burst in.

“Harry, wake the others,” Gennai ordered as he rushed over to the computer in the lounge and uploaded the disc. “Hiroaki, my friend, I may have found a solution to our problem.”

Hiroaki quickly joined him by the computer just as the first couple of families and parents started streaming out of the living quarters.

“What’s going on, Hiroaki?” Susumu Kamiya yawned.

“Gennai’s got some good news for us,” Hiroaki smiled, his comment stirring interest and an awareness through the sleepy parents.

Once everyone was gathered, Gennai launched the program he’d downloaded on the disc, sending it to a projector that displayed a 3D virtual rendering of File Island. The DigiDestined’s families moved out of the center of the room and lined the walls so that they could all get a look at what Gennai was showing them.

“This is File Island,” Gennai stated. “Four years ago this is where Tai and the other six of chosen DigiDestined ended up in the Digital World and met their Digimon partners. That little fun fact aside, my scans have revealed that whatever sort of jamming signal that is blocking all communications from coming in or out of this world is weak enough at the tip of the mountain’s peak that if we can get the right equipment up there we may be able to break through and reach out to other worlds.”

“Really?” Mel Motomiya gasped, clasping her hands together.

“Yes,” Gennai smiled.

“The only complication is the fact that it’s going to take some clever ingenuity to get all of the necessary equipment up to that peak,” Harry sighed. “File Island’s mountain is named Infinity Mountain for a reason. It’s the tallest mountain in all of the Digital World.”

“Couldn’t you just fly up there?” Jun Motomiya asked.

“We could,” Gennai smiled, “but it would attract a lot of attention if we flew in loaded down with equipment. File Island may no longer be under Devimon’s control, but there are still some Digimon that live on that mountain that would find it great sport just to shoot us out of the sky.”

“It would be best if we simply hiked up the mountain,” Harry nodded. “Unimon can be our guide and Centarumon could accompany us, but it would take time.”

“Aren’t you just as likely to get attacked hiking up the mountain as you would be if you flew?” Jim Kido asked.

“Yes,” Gennai nodded, “but we’d be prepared for it and more likely to ward off any attacking Digimon, where as in the sky the risk is a lot more severe. We have a greater advantage with our feet on solid ground.”

The parents nodded.

“When do we set out?” Hiroaki asked.

“We?” Harry blinked. “I’m afraid you misunderstand, Mr. Ishida. Gennai and a few others of our kind will make the trek, but there is no need for any of you to come.”

“What?” many parents gasped, a few outraged.

“What Harry means is that it would be safer for you all to remain here,” Gennai sighed. “The Digital World is a dangerous place for humans. Surely you all knew that before coming here. None of you have Digimon partners like your children do to aid you in this world. Harry and I cannot protect you all outside of this base.”

“Be that as it may, Gennai,” Hiroaki said firmly. “I’m afraid that I must insist that I join you.”

Gennai looked at the human man thoughtfully. Hiroaki Ishida was not like the other parents… Hiroaki was different somehow and Gennai thought he finally knew why that was...

“Let me go with you as a representative,” Hiroaki added thoughtfully. “I understand that not all of us can go but at least let me come to represent the others.”

“…Yes,” Dan Motomiya stepped forth. “Take Hiroaki with you. We trust him… or at least Mel and I do. If you take him, then… I’ll know that we can trust you.”

Dan let his statement hang in the air. Other parents started nodding muttering, “Take Hiroaki.”

“You don’t trust us,” Harry sighed.

“Would you if you were in our position?” Susumu Kamiya shrugged. “Our children are out there with eighteen other children in an unfamiliar and dangerous world and you’re asking us to stay behind and sit on our hands and do nothing. Gennai, you told us that we might all be able to help get our children back home to the world where they belong. You could say we didn’t have much choice in the matter. You asked us to make a spur of the moment decision to come here without really considering the consequences. Now here we are, with a plan that might actually work… and you won’t let one – just one! – of us go with you. We’ve already taken a great leap of faith in you and your people by simply coming here… Won’t you at least give us some peace of mind and reward us with some trust of your own? You know that Hiroaki is good with equipment. He may be human like the rest of us, but maybe that’s what you and your people need. Someone who isn’t like you and can come up with alternatives and solutions that you wouldn’t normally think of.”

Harry opened his mouth to respond, but Gennai held up a hand.

“He’s right, Harry,” Gennai smiled sadly. “We dare not refuse them. Hiroaki was a big help to the DigiDestined during the Myotismon incident at the Convention Center. He was the only one resourceful enough not to get caught by the Bakemon and he also knows more about Digimon than the others do. His feats during that time are evidence of that.”

“And just how is that? Well, Mr. Ishida?” Harry asked, eyes narrowing slightly. “How do you know so much about Digimon? I doubt your sons told you.”

“It’s true that Matt doesn’t talk to me much about his adventures in the Digital World,” Hiroaki admitted. “And I have honestly never asked.”

“Yet you appear to be quite knowledgeable,” Harry prodded. “What is your connection with the Digital World, Mr. Ishida?”

Hiroaki sighed, running a hand through his hair. He wasn’t getting out of this one. He could see that the digital man wasn’t going to let him, and the other parents were looking at him curiously.

“…Does this answer your question?” Hiroaki asked with a sigh as he pulled a small beat up looking device from his pocket. A digivice.

“That’s-!” many parents gasped, recognizing the significance of the item.

“…Where did you get that?” Harry gasped.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Gennai smiled. He’d been right after all. “Hiroaki was chosen. …He’s one of this world’s first group of DigiDestined.”

“…Impossible,” Harry blinked. “The original chosen children came to this world thousands of years ago-!”

“In this world, yes,” Gennai nodded. “It’s been thousands of years in the Digital World. …I assume it’s only been roughly twenty years in the human world.”

“Twenty-four actually,” Hiroaki grunted, returning the old device to his pocket. “This small piece of scrap metal is all that I have to remind myself that the trip I took with four others was real and not some crazy adventure that we all dreamed up.”

“And where are the other chosen children from those days now?” Gennai asked. “I only ask because we may need their help in getting your children back.”

“…Saito Yoshimura married Yumi Wakai right out of high school. Last I heard they’d moved to Hiroshima. As for the other two, Keisuke Hiroko is working at Tokyo University as a professor in the engineering department, and Haru Yoshi is a fourth grade teacher in Yokohama prefecture,” Hiroaki sighed. “I haven’t seen any of them in years…”

“So you’ve been here before, Hiroaki?” Nancy asked quietly, shocked. Even though she’d know Hiroaki for a long time, she didn’t remember knowing anyone by those names that her ex-husband had mentioned.

Hiroaki shook his head; looking out the window to see what view they had of the Digital World.

“No,” Hiroaki frowned. “The Digital World is a lot different from when I came here with the other four DigiDestined in my group. It’s changed drastically. It can actually be considered another world now. The Digital World used to be a series of levels… it didn’t resemble Earth at all… just a complex video game. That’s actually what I originally thought this place was. A game. But the others and I quickly found out that the Digital World was much more than that…”

“The technology on Earth has advanced since your time,” Gennai mused. “And so has the Digital World.”

Hiroaki nodded.

“…So when do we set out for Infinity Mountain?” he asked.

“At dawn,” Harry sighed. “I suggest that you get plenty of rest, Mr. Ishida. It’s going to be a long trip up that mountain.”

“Isn’t it always?” Hiroaki smiled sadly as he watched the two Digital men leave.

 

** Tamer DigiDestined World: Location: Hypnos Head Quarters **

Yamaki was pacing back and forth as he waited for Janyu and Shibumi to finish their latest attempts to reach the Digimon Sovereign. It was four in the morning and two hours since the transmission they’d gotten from that Seraphimon Digimon.

“Any luck you two?” Yamaki sighed.

“…I think so,” Shibumi suddenly smiled. “I’ve been trying to send our message through any link possible to the Digital World, but there is just too much interference from whatever it is that’s jamming the communications between our worlds.”

“How is that lucky?” Yamaki frowned.

“Because I think I’ve found something useful,” the computer man grinned. “Since we can’t seem to send any messages from here, I’ve tried scanning for possible sites where we might be able to relay a message.”

“And you’ve found one?” Yamaki asked.

“I believe so,” Shibumi nodded. “I can’t say I’ve got a fix on what it is that’s jamming us up so bad, but whatever it is it’s weakest point appears to be in the children’s park where the children were transported to the Digital World both time’s they’ve gone. We just might be able to break through the jamming signal long enough to send a message to the Sovereign in our parallel Digital World.”

“Do it,” Yamaki nodded. “Have Daisy assist you in setting up any equipment you may need out there.”

“On it,” Shibumi nodded, hurrying off excitedly to get Daisy.

“Janyu,” Yamaki nodded to the remaining expert. “While Shibumi is working on sending the Sovereign that message I want you to try and trace that strange transmission we received. That Seraphimon had something important to tell us, and it didn’t sound as if he came from our parallel Digital World. If he’s from one of the other Digital Worlds out there then I want a link established between our worlds. Have Curly and Dolphin help you and anyone that can be spared working on this. I have a feeling that we’re going to need outside help on this one. If we can’t get through to our own Digital World than maybe one of the other ones out there can. One message has already gotten through. With any luck there will be more.”

Janyu nodded before going to gather his team.

Yamaki sighed as he approached the monitors broadcasting every channel for all thirty children from three different Digital Worlds. The children were still traveling in the tunnels but appeared to be stopping for a break.

On the lower level Janyu was also watching the monitors, but was watching Henry and Suzie’s in particular as he waited for Dolphin and Curly.

“Another late night, Jan?”

Janyu blinked before finding Mayumi standing behind him in her robe and slippers.

“Yes,” he sighed. “Sorry honey, but it looks like I won’t be coming back to bed tonight.”

Mayumi nodded, but joined him in front of the monitors, worry evident on her face as she observed her son and daughter.

Henry was talking with Takato and a few other boys from the other groups that she didn’t know the names of. He was so busy talking to friends that he didn’t notice Suzie slip away from his side. The Wong parents watched nervously as she wandered about the large group until she bumped into the back of someone’s legs and fell back on her butt.

“ _Are you alright?_ ” the boy she’d run into asked her.

Suzie had looked up and stared at him as she nodded mutely. The boy chuckled and held out a hand towards her.

“ _Hello_ ,” he smiled. “ _I’m Takuya. You’re Suzie, right?_ ”

Again, she nodded without speaking, an awed look on her face. Suzie continued to stare at the boy like that for a couple of minutes before she suddenly frowned.

“ _Are you hurt?_ ” she asked him.

The Takuya boy glanced down at his hand that was clenching the front of his shirt. He was quick to move the hand away from his chest.

“ _Is it your heart?_ ” Suzie asked. “ _My daddy says that if your heart hurts you should take deep breaths. Like this!_ ”

Suzie began to show Takuya how to take nice, deep, even (if not somewhat exaggerated) breathes. Takuya smiled and imitated her.

“ _You’re right_ ,” he grinned. “ _It does help_.”

Suzie giggled.

Janyu and Mayumi smiled sadly as they watched the interaction. It was then that Henry appeared to have realized that Suzie wasn’t with him.

“ _I think your brother is looking for you_ ,” Takuya smiled, pointing off Suzie’s screen.

“ _Oh!_ ” Suzie gasped, hurrying back to Henry’s side, but not before turning around to smile hugely at the boy one more time. “ _Bye-bye, Takuya!_ ”

“ _Suzie! There you are!_ ” Henry sighed, relieved. “ _Where’d you go?_ ”

“ _I was talking to Takuya_ ,” Suzie smiled. “ _He’s really nice_.”

Henry looked up – Janyu could only guess that his son was looking at Takuya – and nodded after a moment. “ _Takato seems to think so too_.”

“Janyu!”

Janyu tore his eyes off his son and daughter’s screens in time to see a fully dressed Curly and a sleepy Dolphin approach.

“Looks like it’s time I head back to bed,” Mayumi smiled sadly at her husband. “I won’t wait up.”

“Night, Yumi,” Janyu sighed, kissing his wife on the cheek.

“It’s technically morning,” Mayumi smiled tiredly before leaving the lower observation platform.

Janyu smiled sadly as he watched his wife leave. When she was gone he turned his attention to his two co-workers. It was time to get back to work.

 

** The Frontier Digital World: Location: The Celestial Digimon’s Castle **

Seraphimon was staring at the communication’s port when Ophanimon rejoined him and Cherubimon in the Throne Room.

“Any news from the other worlds?” she asked.

“I was able to reach out to one of the other human worlds, but when I tried to warn them about the effects that crossing through the dimensional field would have on their children’s digivices, a powerful force blocked me out. I can’t even reconnect to the dimensional corridor at all now… We’re sealed off from all the parallel worlds too,” Seraphimon sighed. “Someone doesn’t want us interfering with events occurring across the dimensional plane.”

“Can we at least get through to the Shadow World?” Ophanimon asked, looking at Cherubimon.

“No,” the holy beast deity sighed. “We’re completely cut off.”

“…I see,” Ophanimon sighed. “Then there is nothing left for us to do?”

“For the moment,” Seraphimon said grimly. “Whoever it is that’s behind this, is trying to seal us off in particular. I sense that the force cutting us off is focused on our world much more than the other worlds involved.”

“I wonder why that is,” Ophanimon mused.

“Because of the Warrior Spirits,” Cherubimon frowned. “Of the three worlds involved, our Digital World is the oldest and has the strongest fighters. As they say in the human worlds, with age come experience, and our Digimon Warriors have the most of that… At the moment, the DigiDestined from our dimension are the strongest fighters those kids have, and they’re only six strong…”

“So you think that whoever’s behind this is afraid that we’ll revive the other four Warrior Spirits?” Ophanimon asked.

“It’s possible,” Seraphimon mused. “If all ten Warrior Spirits were to be revived and come together, they’d be a force to be reckoned with.”

“They’d certainly put pressure on the enemy,” Cherubimon nodded. “But to do that we’d first need to find human hosts for the remaining four Spirit Warriors, and at the moment we have no way to even contact the human world.”

“…But we have two possible candidates for hosts,” Ophanimon mused.

“Are you referring to the two boys?” Seraphimon asked.

“I am,” she nodded.

“…I don’t know,” Cherubimon muttered. “The little one, perhaps. I’m sure the Fire Warrior’s little brother has great potential as a host for one of the four remaining Spirit Warriors, but as for the other boy… the Warrior of Ice’s brother might be too old. He’s nearly an adult. He might not cut it.”

“I think you both are missing the point,” Seraphimon sighed. “Even if both boys become revived Legendary Warriors, that still leaves us with two host-less Spirit Warriors.”

Ophanimon and Cherubimon shared a glance. Their friend had a point.

“What do you suggest we do?” Ophanimon asked.

“The only thing we can do,” Seraphimon sighed again. “We must try to find a way to reopen the dimensional corridor, or at least find a way to get in touch with the DigiDestined. Once we’ve established contact with the other Digital Worlds, we can discuss selecting four new Warriors. For now, let us-!”

“My Lords and Lady!” Nefertimon cried as she burst into the room. “We’ve got trouble! The DigiDestined are under attack!”

The three celestial Digimon quickly left the throne room for the viewing chamber where the palace’s staff were monitoring all activities within their Digital World and the one that the DigiDestined had been taken to. The viewing globes revealed that the DigiDestined were engaged in battle with a Digimon none of them were pleased to see when they were informed of who he was.

“Crusademon,” Cherubimon growled. “Crusadermon’s brother… I’d wondered what had happened to him. Lucemon had sent him away on some mission. I’d just assumed that he’d failed and had been deleted. Looks like I was wrong.”

“This could be bad,” Ophanimon worried. “I better get back to the DigiDestined’s families. They’re probably watching this too on the monitors.”

In spite the DigiDestined’s large numbers, Crusademon fought all of the attacking Digimon off easily. He then made a beeline for the Warrior of Light, but swerved at the last second to take a swing at the frozen form of the Fire Warrior. Caught off guard by the unexpected attack, Takuya lost his footing and stumbled backwards. That was when the female Digimon accompanying Crusademon made her move.

The woman Digimon solidified a plucked strand of hair into a needle and threw at the falling Warrior of Flame. It struck him squarely between the shoulder blades and the shock immobilized his body completely. The bag he was wearing slipped off his shoulder and landed right beside him in a deflated heap.

“ _Takuya!_ ” the DigiDestined Warrior of Light yelled out in alarm and rage, pulling out his D-Tector and spirit evolved into Lobomon. The other Warrior DigiDestined Spirit Evolved as well, but they were too late.

Crusademon charged at Takuya and knocked him out before hefting the now unconscious boy onto his shoulder. He dealt a wide arching blow with his blade to intercept any and all would-be rescuers. The woman Digimon gave a delighted laugh and changed into a spider form, bursting out of her dress.

“ _Spider Thread!_ ” she cried, depositing a net of web on top of the Warrior DigiDestined and the partner Digimon to halt any possible pursuit.

“ _We have him_ ,” the she-Digimon grinned. “ _Now lets go. The master doesn’t like to be kept waiting_.”

Crusademon didn’t offer up any comment but followed her as they left the scene.

“ _Takuya!_ ” Koji cried out in vain as he struggled with the sticky threads.

It took all of the remaining DigiDestined’s effort to free the captive Digimon and the Legendary Warriors, but by the time everyone was finally free the spider-woman and Crusademon were long gone.

“ _Damn it!_ ” the Warrior of Light choked out, slamming a fist into the ground after he reverted back to his human form.

“…This does not bode well, Seraphimon,” Cherubimon said softly.

“No, it doesn’t,” Seraphimon agreed. “It appeared as if they were after the Warrior of Fire specifically…”

“What do we do now?” Cherubimon asked. “Is there no way we can help him?”

“I’m afraid not,” Seraphimon sighed. “The boy is on his own. …Our jobs have just gotten a lot harder.”

“How so?”

“…We’re pressed for time,” Seraphimon explained. “And with Takuya captured we now have to deal with an even more distressed group of parents. Our already limited control is slipping out of our hands… And I don’t see any way we can change that.”

Cherubimon nodded. Things looked grim indeed.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Hiroaki Ishida was once a DigiDestined? The Adventure and Tamers groups seem to have plans of action, but the Frontier world appears to be stuck. Will at least one of the three worlds be able to break free of this mysterious communication's blackout? Find out next time on Digimon: Digital Monsters!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel bad that the Tamers third of the story comes off as short, but i was having writers block again, but other than that I'm very satisfied with this chapter. So much happened even though it doesn't really feel like it. Hiroaki was once a digidestined! Wow! OoO ...Ok, yeah, how many of you caught that little bit of foreshadowing in the prologue? XD There will be more on that later.
> 
> The scene that Janyu was watching was the flashback scene Suzie had in chapter 30 of UGotD, and the scene shown in the Frontier World was the beginning of chapter 7. What's nice about PW is that we have a chronological account of events for this first part of the story. Moving on, this was originally going to be an Adventure chapter again, but when i finished that part i was dissatisfied with the length to I threw in excerpts from the other two worlds. Now we've actually got a semi-independent story line going on. Yay!


	9. Chapter 8: Old and New Relations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously on Digimon: Digital Monsters...
> 
> Adventure World – Gennai found a weakness in the barrier that’s blocking out communications between their world and others and informs the parents of this. Hiroaki’s past as a DigiDestined comes to light after he volunteers to go with the expedition team heading out for Infinity Mountain.
> 
> Tamers World – Shibumi also found a weak point in his world’s communications block between their Earth and Digital World at the children’s park and takes Daisy with him to set up the equipment. Janyu watched Henry and Suzie for a bit before heading off with Curly and Dolphin to try getting in touch with those from other worlds.
> 
> Frontier World – Seraphimon informs Ophanimon and Cherubimon that their world has been entirely blocked off from the dimensional corridor and things only seem to go from bad to worse when Takuya is kidnapped by Crusademon and Arukenimon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place in all three worlds and the main POVs are in Shinya, Yutaka, Daisy, and Hiroaki's POV. Enjoy! and PLEASE REVIEW! TTwTT
> 
> I DO NOT OWN DIGIMON ADVENTURE 02, TAMERS, FRONTIER OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS!

** The Frontier Digital World: Location: The Celestial Digimon’s Castle **

Shinya stared in shock at the screen that had been airing his brother’s now blank channel.

“Takuya…” he whispered, shaking slightly.

When his brother had been struck by the black knight Digimon his screen had blacked out. At the moment Shinya’s mother was sobbing uncontrollably against his father’s chest as he and the other parents tried to sooth her. Never before had a channel blacked out like that even when the subject was asleep. This was a worrying development. Yutaka was watching the Kanbara family’s reactions feeling as equally numb as Shinya.

Various thoughts were running through his head. Takuya had obviously been the target and reason for the attack… but why? Why was the boy alone taken? It just didn’t make any sense to Yutaka. He glanced up at the various screens and watched as the doctor-kid was flipping through medical documents of some sort informing the others about Takuya’s condition. His heart clenched when he saw the absolute fear and mortification on Tommy’s face at the revelation. A twinge of jealousy flashed through Yutaka. That Tommy was so worried for this other brat-! …That wasn’t fair of him. Yutaka looked back at Shinya feeling slightly guilty and more than sympathetic to the young boy’s plight, but he frowned when he saw the young Kanbara boy slip out of the room and out into the Unification Hall. Yutaka looked around the room and realized that none of the parents had noticed that the little boy had snuck out. All of them were too busy trying to comfort the distraught Kanbara parents. With a frown Yutaka quietly slipped out of the room as well and silently followed the wandering boy.

Shinya was unaware of his presence as he walked down the large hall and wandered through the first door he came too. The door opened up to a high ceilinged room that was scarcely decorated with plush furniture that gave the impression that the space was meant to be a sitting or waiting room. Shinya looked around it numbly, wondering what kind of Digimon used some of the more odd looking pieces in the room. He crossed to the other side of the room where there was another door. He opened it without hesitation – already bored with the sitting room – and wandered into another long hallway decorated with more murals. He could now recognize the subjects of the murals, as he looked them over. On one section of the abstract mural there was a depiction of Koji and Koichi as the two appeared to be locked in battle. Shinya shivered when he got a good look at how sinisterly the Twin of Darkness was represented in this picture.

“That must be from when Koichi was that Duskmon character,” a voice mused.

Shinya nearly jumped out of his skin. He whirled around on the spot and found Yutaka Himi standing a few feet away from him as the older boy’s gaze wandered from the section of the mural he was looking at to one of a small boy wrapped in ice battling a flaming Digimon. Shinya watched him silently as the older boy continued to stare at the mural.

“…What are you doing here?” Shinya mumbled before continuing to walk down the long hall.

“I just think that little kids shouldn’t be wandering around on their own,” Yutaka shrugged.

“I’m not little,” Shinya grumbled. “I can take care of myself.”

Yutaka paused, sparing Shinya a glance. He’d heard Tommy mutter those words many times before.

“…I’m sure you can,” Yutaka finally managed. “But humor me, won’t ya?”

Shinya peered up at Yutaka’s neutral face before smiling sadly.

“You miss Tommy, don’t you? You’re worried about him,” Shinya whispered, making Yutaka stiffen. “I’ve got an idea. Since my _older_ brother and your _younger_ brother are gone, you can be _my_ older brother and _I_ can be your younger brother!”

Yutaka looked down in shock at the little Kanbara’s proposal.

“…I don’t think that’ll work, squirt,” Yutaka frowned, continuing down the hall.

“Why not?” Shinya snickered. “You’re bossy enough to be Takuya.”

Yutaka froze. Was that what the boy’s suggestion was about? He glanced back at Shinya again who was now preoccupied looking up at a part of the mural depicting the Zoe girl fighting a water nymph or something. Only now could Yutaka see the lost expression on the little boy’s face. Shinya Kanbara was only a few months older than Tommy was and even though he’d only known the child for a couple of days he could tell that the boy and his brother shared so many of the same qualities… and one of them was obviously a hero-worship complex aimed towards Takuya.

Yutaka leaned against the wall and watched the little… _youngest_ Kanbara stare mournfully at a flaming depiction of Takuya fighting some brown dirt creature thing.

“…They’ll come back… won’t they?”

Yutaka was jerked out of his thoughts as Shinya whispered that sad question, but still faced the part of the mural he was studying.

“They’ll come back won’t they?” Shinya asked in a slightly stronger voice, but it still wavered. “Takuya, Tommy and the others will come back, right? …They have to…”

Yutaka watched the little boy as his shoulders began to shake with silent sobs, but Shinya remained as he was, shoulders straight and his eyes never leaving the heroic depiction of his missing older brother. Yutaka pondered that question for a moment. But what if none of them came back? What if all those children were stuck in that other world? What if he never saw Tommy again? His heart seized up at the thought.

He had always been hard on Tommy. The boy had always gotten whatever he’d wanted from their parents and Yutaka had resented his brother for that. He’d watched Tommy grow up spoiled and coddled by their parents when he hadn’t while growing up and it had made Yutaka resentful. When Tommy had started getting bullied he hadn’t done much to prevent it because he’d thought that Tommy had deserved it…

But half a year ago that seemed to have changed. Tommy was no longer bullied – in fact he now played soccer with the very boys that used to bully him – and he had started acting more respectful towards Yutaka. He’d even thanked him for no real apparent reason out of the blue the next time Yutaka had come home from college. It was like his spoiled baby brother had finally grown up. Of course their parents still spoiled the kid rotten, but Yutaka had been surprised to see Tommy turn most of their offers down. For the first two months Yutaka couldn’t wrap his head around the change that had come over his brother… until the first time he’d seen Takuya Kanbara hanging out with Tommy.

The hero worship in his little brother’s eyes towards the other boy had been obvious to him. This Takuya kid was two or three years older than Tommy was and Yutaka hated that while watching the older boy he couldn’t find much fault in him. Sure Takuya appeared to be a little full of himself – especially in his soccer abilities, but those boasts turned out to be well founded – and he was a little on the reckless side, but what Yutaka hated most about the boy was that he could see why Tommy seemed to worship his older friend. Looking back on it now, Yutaka could definitely see now why Takuya was represented as a hero in all of these murals. …And now that hero was missing from both his world and the screen that had been monitoring him ever since he and the other “chosen” children had been spirited away to that foreign Digital World.

Regret and guilt flooded Yutaka as he realized why he’d hated Takuya Kanbara. It was because Takuya Kanbara had been more of an older brother to Tommy than Yutaka had ever been. Yutaka had only been full of spite and contempt when it came to Tommy. It was no wonder that Tommy practically worshiped Shinya’s older brother… because Takuya was so obviously the older brother that Tommy had wanted… and deserved to have.

“Yutaka?”

Shinya’s soft voice broke him out of his thoughts and to his utter mortification he realized that he’d started crying as the traitorous tears trailed down his cheeks. Yutaka let out an exasperated huff as he roughly rubbed the tears away, but stopped when he felt a small hand clutch at the hem of his unzipped hoodie.

“…It’s okay to cry you know, especially if you’re sad or really upset,” Shinya smiled nervously up at him. “…Takuya once told me that it takes more strength to cry than not to and that it’s nothing to be ashamed of. …I promise that I won’t tell anyone.”

Yutaka stared down at the small boy numbly before he allowed himself a sad smile. He kneeled down so that he was at Shinya’s level and pulled the small boy into a loose hug.

“The same could be said for you, kid,” he muttered, forcing himself to relax when Shinya shuddered, sniffed, and then buried his face in the front of Yutaka’s T-shirt.

Yutaka pulled the little Kanbara boy a little closer before looking up at the depiction of Takuya. He might not have been able to be much of an older brother to Tommy and he wasn’t really sure if any of the children that now found themselves in that strange Digital World would ever return, but he vowed that he’d start over with Tommy if he ever got the chance… For the moment Yutaka was content to start with Shinya. If Takuya could take up the role of Tommy’s older brother in Yutaka’s absence, then Yutaka resolved then and there to be there for Shinya while both of their brothers were gone. It wasn’t much and Yutaka knew that he had a lot to learn about how to be a good older brother… but it was a start.

 

** Tamer DigiDestined World: Location: Hypnos Head Quarters **

Daisy sat silently in the drivers seat as she drove the equipment van towards the children’s park. Shibumi was seated beside her in the passenger’s seat mumbling to himself as he looked over various notes piled in his lap as he went over his calculations. Daisy had to admire the man’s persistence. The man was a genius, but had never boasted about it and always made sure to check and double check his work like anyone else. That was part of the reason so many people liked the man. He never acted superior to those around him. Instead he was amazingly child-like. He was like that boy who’d sworn to never grow up.

“Turn here,” Shibumi said suddenly, breaking her from her wandering thoughts. “We’ll take the bike trail through the park. It’ll make it easier for us to cart all this equipment up to where we need to get it.”

Daisy nodded and followed his instructions. They were parked beside one of the bike trails minutes later. Because they were technically parked in the middle of a lane, Daisy placed cones around the vehicle while Shibumi prepped their equipment for transport. It was still very early in the morning so there was little difficulty there. It was a long process getting all of the equipment Shibumi had brought along down the bike trail and up to the part of the park where Takato and the other children had disappeared. It took them many trips and by the time they had everything before the staircase that led to the structure that Takato had been keeping Guilmon in, there were many people now up and about. However, though Shibumi and Daisy had seen many joggers and couples pass them by there were no children playing in the park. When Daisy pointed this out to Shibumi the man sighed and ran a hand through his receding hairline.

“What happened over the last few days to Takato and the other children has been aired on TV all over the world,” he pointed out. “Parents are afraid of letting their children play here in case they’re dragged off to that Digital World as well.”

“I see,” Daisy smiled sadly. “Even though it’s an unlikely occurrence, parents will still fear for the safety of their children.”

“Right,” Shibumi nodded. “Now lets focus on bringing Takato and the others back. We need to get all of this set up.”

The next few hours were spent carrying up the computer components up the steps and into the building. It didn’t surprise either of them that many of the parents had shown up to help them move the heavy equipment. Daisy was grateful for the assistance since she was pretty sure that it would have been nearly impossible for Shibumi and herself to move it all on their own. Around noon the Matsukis brought a freshly baked lunch for everyone from their bakery that they’d temporarily reopened for the morning while cooking. After that most of the parents headed back to Hypnos HQ to see how things were going on Yamaki and Janyu’s end.

It was a quiet afternoon while Shibumi and Daisy hooked up all of the components that they’d brought with help from Hirofumi Shiota and Shiyunsuke Kitagawa who were familiar with computers themselves. But no one was of any help when it came to the actual programming part so Daisy and Shibumi were left to their work in peace. The two Hypnos agents threw themselves into their work to such a degree that they hadn’t noticed that the sun had set and that most people would be sitting down to dinner. That is until Mayumi Wong and Tadashi Katou brought them dinner.

“Thanks,” Daisy sighed. “Now that you mention it, Mayumi, I am hungry.”

“You two have been working so hard,” Mayumi smiled. “I’d figured that it was about time you two got a break.”

Daisy smiled up at the two parents who’d come to offer her some relief from the work she’d been doing, but then noticed that Shibumi hadn’t budged an inch.

“Shibumi, give it a rest for now,” Daisy smiled tiredly. “Lets have something to eat.”

“…YES!” Shibumi cried, punching the air with a fist.

The sudden exclamation made Daisy, Mayumi and Tadashi jump.

“What is it?” Daisy asked, rushing over to her friend’s station.

“I’ve managed to break through the barrier and was able to send a message!” Shibumi cried excitedly.

“You were?!” Daisy gasped, looking over his shoulder to scan the readings on his computer screen. “…We’re actually getting a response from the Digital World…”

“Now all that’s left is to wait and see if Azulongmon will respond,” Shibumi beamed just before his computer beeped.

“That didn’t take long at all,” Daisy smiled.

“Right,” Shibumi nodded. “Now lets see what he has to say…”

 

** The Adventure Digital World: Location: Gennai’s Base **

Hiroaki was preparing to go with Gennai to Infinity Mountain, packing the few things that he had and thought that he might need. He didn’t have much, only what he’d had on him when he was brought to the Digital World.

“…Hiroaki?”

He looked up and saw a nervous looking Nancy standing in the doorway of his small room.

“Nancy,” he nodded back to her.

She looked down for a moment before eyeing his pack.

“…Why didn’t you tell me that you had been a DigiDestined just like TK and Matt?” she asked.

Hiroaki chuckled.

“Would you have believed me?” he sighed.

“No…” she admitted. “But you could have told me after what happened at the TV station with Myotismon.”

“What good would that have done?” Hiroaki asked tiredly. “Nancy, to be honest I’d done my best to forget all about this world until the day Matt returned from summer camp with Gabumon. Seeing his Digimon in the real world made me search for my old Digivice. I’ve kept it close to me ever since… During that time some part of me was hoping that my old partner would show up. Another part of me feared it. But I knew that Matt would be safe if he had Gabumon with him… Do know why I felt fine leaving Matt with Gabumon?”

Nancy shook her head.

“…My Digimon partner was also a Gabumon,” Hiroaki smiled. “He didn’t digivolve into a Garurumon like Matt’s Gabumon does, so I was a little surprised to see him when Matt showed up at the TV station. …Nancy, our boys are going to be just fine so long as they have their Digimon with them. Those Digimon will do whatever it takes to protect them… They will put their very lives on the line if that’s what it takes.”

A sad look entered Hiroaki’s eyes as he returned his attentions to his packing before shrugging it onto his shoulders. Nancy nodded wordlessly and followed him out of his room as he headed down the hall to meet up with Gennai in the lounge/common room. Gennai wasn’t there yet, but all of the other parents were.

“How are things going with the children?” he asked.

Susumu Kamiya was closest and had heard him.

“Nothing much,” the father of his son’s best friend said. “They’ve bedded down for the night and are now changing watch shifts for the first time tonight.

Hiroaki nodded and looked up at the screens, watching like all of the other parents were. It was quiet until a soft voice drew their attention to one of the screens. It was the twins from the Warrior DigiDestined group.

“ _I can’t let you do that_ ,” the twin with the longer hair sighed with a suppressed yawn.

“ _Yes you can_ ,” the other twin chuckled softly. “ _Besides, I’m not even tired yet. Honest. It’ll be all right Koji. I don’t mind being out here in the dark_.”

“ _I bet_ ,” Kari’s voice said darkly as she passed them, coming into view on the shorter haired twin’s screen.

The longhaired twin glared at her.

“ _What’s that supposed to mean_?” he asked.

“ _Why should he mind the dark_?” Kari shrugged. “ _It’s only his element. The darkness of the night must be a real comfort to him_.”

Hiroaki glanced at the girl’s parents and saw shocked expressions flicker across their faces.

“ _It is rather calming_ ,” Koichi smiled, obviously trying to dispel the increasingly hostile and awkward tension that was growing. “ _Especially out here where_ -”

“ _I knew it_ ,” Kari scoffed. “ _You’re actually enjoying our situation, aren’t you_?”

“ _I beg your pardon_?” Koichi inquired politely.

Susumu and Yuko traded nervous glances.

Other children that had been sleeping nearby had woken upon hearing Kari’s raising voice. It had also attracted the attention of the others changing watch shifts as well. Hiroaki nodded slightly in approval as he watched Tai and Matt’s screens and saw them hurry over to the scene to see what was going on. Those two would straighten things out.

“ _Only an agent of darkness would find this place soothing. Especially at night_ ,” Kari spat, surprising her parents even more. They’d never seen Kari like this.

Koji’s hands balled into fists.

“ _What’s going on here_?” Tai asked as he and Matt finally arrived with Davis on their heels.

“ _I’m not quite sure_ ,” poor Koichi blinked, glancing between his increasingly enraged twin and Kari.

“ _Don’t play that game_ ,” Kari growled.

“ _I honestly don’t_ –!” Koichi spluttered.

WHAP!

Everyone in the observation room gasped at the sound of the slap that echoed around the room. Koichi remained frozen where he stood, shocked. His cheek slowly turning pink, forming a welt from the hard slap that Kari had just given him.

“ _Don’t play dumb_ ,” she cried. “ _I won’t let you make me out to be a fool_.”

“ _You seem to be doing that yourself_ ,” Koji told her softly.

The parents noticed that she didn’t hear the dark warning undertone in the boy’s voice, but apparently Matt had. To everyone’s relief the older boy entered Kari’s screen.

“ _I think that’s enough, Kari_ ,” Matt said, placing a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to placate her. “ _You’re tired. You’re saying things you don’t really mean. Why don’t you switch shifts with Yolei? You can have her later shift so that you can get some more sleep._ ”

“ _I’m fine_ ,” Kari insisted. “ _He’s the problem. I don’t trust him. Who could trust anyone with darkness as their attribute_?”

The parents traded concerned glances as they and Koichi finally understood the reason for Kari’s hostilities. They were worried however because it looked like Koji had just about snapped after hearing Kari’s latest comment. Thankfully Koichi grabbed his twin’s arm. Koji glared at his twin, but relaxed his fist. Kari had seen the glare and the raised fist but she appeared to have mistaken it’s meaning.

“ _Humph_ ,” she sighed. “ _Not even your twin trusts you_.”

That did it. The parents filched as they watched Koji raised the fist again, when –

WHAP!

Everyone gasped and Kari’s eyes flew wide open as she recoiled from the slap. Everyone stood stunned. They had expected Koji to hit her, so no one had expected Tai. His hand was still raised, arm tense, as if shocked by the action it had just committed, but his face was a mask of disappointment and sorrow. Yuko Kamiya pursed her lips but could tell that her son hadn’t enjoyed hitting his sister.

“ _Tai_?” Kari’s voice gasped over the speakers, obviously stunned and hurt by her brother’s actions.

“ _That’s enough, Kari_ ,” her brother said softly. “ _Do as Matt suggested and switch watches with Yolei_.”

“ _Why_?” Kari cried. “ _Why’d you hit me? Are you taking their side_?”

“ _I’m taking no one’s side_ ,” he answered simply. “ _You went too far, Kari. I’d usually demand that you give an apology, but I can see that you won’t at the moment. Now go get Yolei… On second thought, wake Sora. She can have your shift instead. Yolei can keep hers. I want you to sleep and think about what you’ve said tonight._ ”

He walked up to her and kissed her on the cheek that he’d slapped.

“ _I know you’ll do the right thing in the end_ ,” his voice whispered softly through the speakers. “ _You always do. Now go to sleep and clear your head_.”

Kari stared numbly at him, the disbelief evident in her eyes, but Yuko and Susumu sighed, grateful that their son had appeared to have effectively defused the embarrassing situation.

Tai turned away from his sister, their conversation over, and looked at the twins before him.

“ _So who’s taking the shift_?” He asked.

“ _I am, like I said I would_ ,” Koji stated.

Tai nodded. “ _All right then. Koichi, do you know where you’re sleeping_?”

The poor boy looked like the question threw him for a moment. The parents couldn’t blame him for being nervous after his unexpected confrontation with Kari.

Thankfully Tai saw the boy’s indecision and smiled softly.

“ _Why don’t you join Davis and I? Our spot’s a little far from the fire, but we’ve got Agumon to keep us warm. He’s practically a walking space heater with that Pepper Breath of his_.”

“ _Yeah_!” Davis grinned the moment Tai suggested it. “ _You can have the spot next to me and Ken. We’ll even save a spot for you, Koji, so you can join us after your shift_!”

Koji nodded his thanks at Davis, the relief on his face all too clear.

“ _All right_ …” Koichi smiled, but glanced hesitantly at his twin, who squeezed his hand comfortingly.

“ _Great_!” Matt said, clapping his hands together. “ _Now that that’s settled, Koji, you and I have a watch shift to start. See the rest of you in the morning_!”

“ _Yeah_ ,” Tai yawned. “ _Let’s hit the hay guys_.”

The parents watching sighed with relief when Tai led Davis and the Koichi boy off someplace to sleep with Davis chatting away animatedly.

“I think Tai handled that situation really well,” Hiroaki smiled gently at the embarrassed Kamiyas.

“Yes,” Mel Motomiya instantly agreed, taking Yuko’s hand in hers. “Kari looked really tired. I’m sure she didn’t mean to say all of those things.”

“Oh she meant them all right,” Jim Kido muttered under his breath, but no one but Jun Motomiya and Hiroaki seemed to have heard him.

The other parents in the room came over to reassure the Kamiyas that Kari couldn’t have been in the right frame of mind when she’d confronted Koichi Kimura, but Hiroaki felt that the boy’s parents probably wouldn’t see it that way. If Koichi had been Matt or TK, Hiroaki knew that he’d take offense. As far as Hiroaki knew, Koichi had meant and caused no offense to deserve to be attacked like that. It saddened Hiroaki slightly to realize how black and white their children must see things.

“Quite a ruckus going on in here,” someone mused beside him.

Looking up, Hiroaki spotted Gennai who had finally arrived.

“Are you ready, Hiroaki?” the digital man asked.

Hiroaki only nodded. Everyone in the room then seemed to realize that Gennai was present. Knowing his purpose, many came up to Hiroaki to wish him luck. Nancy was unsurprisingly at the front of the group. Though they had been divorced for many years now, Hiroaki knew that some part of him still loved his ex and liked to believe that some small part of her was still in love with him. He offered up a small smile before turning on his heel to wordlessly follow Gennai out of the lounge to the debriefing room where he would meet the Digimon they were going to be scaling Infinity Mountain with. He recognized Centarumon and Elecmon and a few others, but he stopped in his tracks when he saw the last Digimon in their party.

“Hello, Hiroaki,” the Digimon smiled. “It’s been a long time.”

“…Too long,” Hiroaki smiled as tears filled his eyes. “It’s good to see you again, Gabumon.”

A Gabumon, much like his oldest son’s, stood a little taller with a flash of mischief in those amber eyes. His voice was light but firm unlike Matt’s Gabumon’s low and deep overtones. The only physical difference between Matt’s Gabumon and Hiroaki’s was that Hiroaki’s Gabumon’s fur overcoat had silver grey-stripes on blue instead of blue on silver-grey.

Hiroaki kneeled down to his Digimon partner’s eye level and hugged him.

“I’ve missed you my old friend,” he whispered.

“Me too,” the Digimon chuckled. “Now that the greetings have been exchanged, how’s about you and I team up again to see if we can’t get your sons and their friends home?”

Hiroaki nodded and pulled out his digivice that began to shine brilliantly, reactivating now that human and Digimon partner were reunited once more.

“Let’s do this.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Hiroaki is reunited with his old partner? Nice! What was in Azulongmon's reply to Shibumi? And in the Adventure Digital World how will the trek up to Infinity Mountain go? I guess you're just going to have to find out for yourself next time on Digimon: Digital Monsters!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so we've got some plot moving in this. Great! I loved writing that first third with Shinya and Yutaka. I really kinda made Yutaka into an enemy character but he had already been made into a kind of antagonist for Tommy in the anime. Hopefully I made him a more sympathetic character. I was at a loss at what to write for Tamers, but then this morning it hit me to do Daisy. She and Shibumi are my favorites of the Monster Makers and I love writing stuff for them. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that it was worth the wait. PLEASE review!


	10. Chapter 9: Preparing to Take Action

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously on Digimon: Digital Monsters...
> 
> Frontier World – Shinya takes off after Takuya is kidnapped and Yutaka follows him. The two wander the castle and Yutaka comes to realize the reason behind his resentful feelings towards Takuya and his relationship with Tommy.
> 
> Tamers World – Shibumi and Daisy are busy setting things up at the children’s park and spend all day trying to make a connection with the Digital World. Just as the day comes to an end they make contact and receive a message from Azulongmon.
> 
> Adventure World – Hiroaki is preparing for his trek up Infinity Mountain with Gennai and co. Before leaving he witnesses with the other parents Kari’s confrontation with Koichi during the watch shift change. After Gennai arrives to collect him he meets with the other Digimon he’ll be venturing with and is reunited with his old partner, Gabumon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thing about this chapter, it's the first one of PW that doesn't have a rehash scene form UGotD!
> 
> I DO NOT OWN DIGIMON ADVENTURE 02, TAMERS, FRONTIER OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS!

** Tamer DigiDestined World: Location: Hypnos Head Quarters **

“You managed to make contact?!” Yamaki gasped as Shibumi chattered away on the other end of the phone. Janyu looked up sharply from the platform below, a mixture of relief and nerves.

“…I see,” Yamaki pursed his lips in a grimace. “So they’re having as much trouble on their end as we are on ours… All right. See what you can do about broadening the connection.”

“What’s going on, Yamaki?” Janyu asked as Yamaki hung up and the other members of the Monster Makers gathered around to hear the news.

“It would appear that the communications black out with our Digital World has even greater consequences over there than it does here. According to a message that Shibumi received from Azulongmon after managing to send one of his own, the Digital World is in lock down and apparently has sealed off the four Sovereign from each other.”

“What exactly does this mean?” Curly asked.

“It means that unless whatever it is that’s keeping the Sovereign separated is disabled, they can’t help us,” Janyu sighed.

“The Digital World – or at least the one that’s connected to our world – is made up of a series of levels,” Dolphin explained to Curly. “The lock down has locked all of the levels so that nothing can pass from one level to the next.”

“Is there anything that we can do to fix this?” Bable asked.

“…There is nothing _we_ can do,” Janyu frowned. “…But there is something that someone else may be able to do.”

“Who?” nearly everyone asked.

Janyu sighed and looked up at Yamaki.

“A child,” Yamaki answered. “We will have to intentionally send a child to the Digital World and have them disable whatever it is that is locking it down. According to Azulongmon’s message, if we can take care of what’s locking down our Digital World, then we may be able to reach out to the other worlds. Daisy and Shibumi are currently working on broadening the connection that’s been opened up to send messages to the Digital World to see if they can’t open a portal. It’s very likely that we’ll only get one shot at this.”

All was quiet for a moment as the severity of the situation hit home. Now that everyone thought about it, it only made sense to send a child. The Digital World and the Digimon that inhabited it had an affinity for children and only a child would stand a chance of getting to the Digital World and gaining the help they’d undoubtedly need from the Digimon there. It was quiet for a long time before Curly was brave enough to ask the question that was now on all of their minds.

“…So who do we send?”

Everyone looked at each other, at a loss as to what to say. It wasn’t an ideal plan and even if it was, the children that they would have sent were the ones that they were trying to get back.

“I’ll go!”

Everyone turned towards the entrance to the lab and spotted a young blond girl wearing a lacy gothic dress with her hair tied up in pigtails with matching lace ribbons.

“Alice!” Dolphin gasped when he spotted his niece. “No! What will your parents say? They entrusted me with your safety!”

“Well someone’s gotta do it,” Alice McCoy argued back calmly. “Besides, I won’t be alone. I’ve looked and recruited two others for such a task. They’ve also been in contact with Digimon before like myself and are highly likely candidates for becoming Tamers themselves.”

“Who?” Curly asked incredulously.

“That’d be us!”

Everyone in the room watched a boy with dark tanned skin and a shy looking girl step out from behind Alice. The boy had long shaggy brown hair pulled back in a ponytail and wore an open green button-up shirt with no undershirt and jean shorts. The girl was lightly tanned, looking timid in her knee length blue dress over navy leggings. Her reddish-brown hair was tied back in pigtails with pink hair ties.

“Kai Urazoe and Minami Uehara ready for action,” the boy beamed while the girl set her shoulders in a determined fashion and nodded.

“Children, I don’t think that you understand what you’re volunteering for,” Dolphin frowned, mainly at Alice.

“You need someone to go to the Digital World to help the Sovereign, right? No sweat! We’ll do it. If it’s our parents’ permission you’re worried about, forget it,” Kai snorted. “My Gramps sees this as an exciting opportunity for adventure, and Minami’s dad is cool with it. We owe my cousin Takato and his friends for their help in Okinawa last summer and if this ends with us gaining Digimon partners and becoming Tamers as well… well I see no down side to that.”

“Your father is really all right with this?” Curly asked Minami.

Minami nodded.

“Takato, Henry, Rika and their Digimon saved us last summer. If going to the Digital World to back up Alice will help Takato then I want to do this,” Minami said firmly. “I told my dad as much and he agreed. He’s not comfortable with my decision, but he’s fine with it as long as I’m with Kai and Alice.”

“As long as the three of us stick together we should be fine,” Alice stated confidently.

“Alice this isn’t just something-!” Dolphin stuttered angrily, unable to put his thoughts into words before desperately turning to Janyu. “Janyu, say something! Tell them that this isn’t right.”

Janyu didn’t say anything though. He was clicking away grimly on the nearest computer and talking on the phone with someone – presumably Shibumi.

“Grr… Yamaki!” Dolphin cried out in frustration.

The Director of Hypnos sighed and took off his shades, rubbing his eyes.

“What do you want me to say, Dolphin?” Yamaki asked.

“That it’s too dangerous!” Dolphin finally exploded. “That they can’t go!”

“Then who else do we send?” Curly asked meekly, meeting her friend and co-worker’s glare. “Only a child can go to the Digital World.”

“They _are_ ideal candidates,” Bable sighed. “They’ve interacted with Digimon before and are highly likely to gain partner Digimon of their own and become Tamers like Takato and the others.”

“We know that it’s dangerous,” Alice said coming up to her uncle. “But we’ll be in less danger than Takato and the others. The threat is there, not here.”

“But none of you have Digimon!” Dolphin said miserably knowing that he was fighting a losing battle now. “Takato and the others at least had Guilmon, Terriermon, Renamon, and Leomon when they left for the Digital World.”

“True,” Alice huffed, flipping a blond pigtail over her shoulder. “But Ryo went to the Digital World on _his own_ **_without_** a Digimon partner like we will be doing. He made it out fine.”

“After a year!” Dolphin cried, grasping at the straw provided for him. “And that was only because he just happened to run into Takato and the others while they were there. Ryo would still be in the Digital World – _our_ world’s corresponding Digital World – if he hadn’t come back with the others. If you three go we have no guarantee that you’ll be able to come back!”

“Uncle,” Alice sighed. “We _want_ to do this. Please. You know that there is no one else. We won’t be alone. We’ll have each other. Trust us. We may not be Takato and the others, but we’ll do our best to help. We _will_ come back.”

Dolphin looked his niece in the eye and then at Kai and Minami before letting out another gusty sigh.

“…I suppose there is no other solution,” he muttered. “Yamaki? Janyu? What do we need to do?”

 

** The Frontier Digital World: Location: The Celestial Digimon’s Castle **

Yutaka allowed Shinya to finish crying and pull himself together before suggesting that they head back to their parents. Shinya nodded slowly but suddenly looked up and over at the end of the corridor.

“Shinya?” Yutaka frowned when he saw nothing amiss.

“I thought I saw…” Shinya trailed before slowly slipping out of Yataka’s arms and heading towards a door opposite the one they entered through earlier. Had it always been there?

Yutaka’s frown deepened, but he stayed quiet and followed the younger boy. When the two finally arrived at the door they both paused to stare at the character etched into the wood that looked like an upside-down “U” overlaid with a cross. Shinya finally turned to knob and opened the door to reveal that there was a forest beyond it. Gaping in awe, the young Kanbara boy stepped through the doorway. Yutaka was right behind him – not wanting to let the younger boy out of his sight even as he gazed up at what should have been the sky, only to see a glass domed ceiling like those usually built into buildings that housed botanical gardens. So even with all the trees and plants and the obvious dirt flooring beneath them, they still had to be inside the castle.

“This place is unreal…” Shinya gasped.

“It’s the Digital World. I imagine that there are a lot of unreal things here,” Yutaka said softly.

Shinya only nodded.

The further they traveled into the forest, the darker it became so Shinya finally fell back so that he remained close to Yutaka’s side, trembling slightly. Seeing this, Yutaka took hold of the little boy’s hand and gave it a – hopefully – reassuring squeeze. Shinya smiled nervously back up at him but then all nervousness seemed to leave him as something caught his attention yet again.

“Whoa!” he gasped. “Did you see that, Yutaka?!”

“See what?” Yutaka asked looking around them nervously. He didn’t like these woods, but he couldn’t let Shinya go on alone.

Shinya didn’t answer him. Instead the little boy grabbed hold of his hand and began to drag him along as he hurried them in a seemingly random direction. This continued for another five minutes before Shinya stopped at the edge of a clearing where there was an assortment of strangely shaped rocks organized into a formation that was the same as the character etched into the door. The creature sitting on the rock in the center of this arrangement was obviously a Digimon, but it was humanoid – even more so than Ophanimon – looking like a small child in wood plated armor that reminded Yutaka of Peter Pan’s battle ready lost boys at the end of the movie Hook.

The Digimon-child had long shaggy deep mahogany red-brown hair that stuck out beneath a beaten looking brown leather cap that was pulled sideways on his head at a cocky angle. His eyes were a bright bronze color that glittered mischievously at them within his long rounded face that was marked with three brown slash-like streak markings on each cheek. The boy’s whole body was long, slim and willowy, but it was also lean and vibrating with energy as it’s limbs hinted at his flexibility. He was wearing deep green leggings tucked within strong firm pointed-toed leather boots, a black tunic and a brown leather vest could seen beneath the wooden armor he wore with wooden arm guards, and matching gloves. A recurve bow was slung over his shoulder hanging across his back while a small hunting knife was belted around his waist within reach of his hands that where currently occupied with a quarterstaff.

“…Who are you?” Shinya asked tentatively as he took a step into the clearing.

The creature only smiled twirling his staff around before hooking his arms over the back of it as he lifted the staff behind his head to rest along his shoulders. With the boy-Digimon’s slight frame, Yutaka was given the impression of a scarecrow for a moment.

“I’m Shinya,” Shinya continued smiling, not bothered by the Digimon’s lack of response. “And that’s Yutaka.”

The Digimon now cocked its head at Yutaka and stared long and hard at him before returning it’s attention to Shinya.

“Do you have a name?” Shinya asked when the Digimon remained silent.

Again, the creature didn’t reply, but instead offered up a wide grin before brandishing his staff in a grandiose gesture before taking a sweeping bow as if to say, “nice to meet you.”

In response Shinya automatically bowed back but was beginning to fidget nervously since the Digimon still hadn’t spoken yet. Finally he asked, “Can’t you talk?”

The Digimon-boy threw back his head in laughter, but not one sound passed it’s lips which unnerved Yutaka who’d managed to maintain a grip on Shinya’s hand. It startled him when the Digimon suddenly lunged forward and grabbed Shinya’s free hand and proceeded to drag him – as well as Yutaka – further into the forest until they reached another door, this one metal and decorated with a complicated character etched into it. Opening the door, the strange Digimon-boy practically shoved Yutaka in before hurrying in behind with Shinya still in tow.

At this point Yutaka had just about had it with the silent wild Digimon-boy and was about to give it a piece of his mind when he took in the new room they’d just entered and stared. It looked like someplace out of a Sci-Fi movie. The floor and furnishings were all made of various types of stone slates and metal grating. The walls chrome and riveted, looking like the inside wall paneling of Doctor Who’s TARDIS, giving the place a hard core training facility’s feel like those you’d see in Star Trek or some other space movie.

There was a sudden clang and Yutaka’s head jerked up and snapped forward to zero in on the source of the noise. Shinya let out a sharp yelp at the sound before clutching onto Yutaka’s arm with both hands since the Digimon-child had let him go once they’d entered the metal room. Standing on a platform made of metal mesh and grating stood an imposing figure with a neutral expression on it’s face. It had to be another Digimon.

This one was human in appearance too, but his waist long hair was silver like the pristine steel walls of the room they were in. Even from this distance Yutaka could see that this Digimon’s eyes were a vibrant red. His skin was pale as if it had never seen daylight and allowed the black markings that decorated his body to prominently stand out. There were three pointed streaks on each cheek, and a complex winding and twisting dragon symbol that ran down the complete length of each arm. He was wearing a gray sleeveless tunic and slacks with a silver sash tied around his middle beneath glowing reflective armor plating. The armor was dragon themed and there were shields on each of the man’s arms that looked like they were actually mirrors. There was also a broadsword strapped across his back. The “man” could have been human even with the bizarre hair and eye colors, but his hands had one-inch long sharp-clawed fingernails, warning Yutaka that this Digimon could be trouble.

“Alright,” Yutaka frowned. “And who are you?”

The Digimon-man merely smiled as if he were amused by Yutaka’s question.

“Oh don’t tell me you’re a mute like you’re buddy here,” Yutaka scoffed, gesturing with his thumb to the Digimon-child behind him and Shinya.

The older looking Digimon raised a thin silver eyebrow delicately at the indicated Digimon-child before shaking his head.

“I am Tetsukomon, Human Spirit of Steel,” the metal armored Digimon replied. “And that is Mokuseimon, Human Spirit of Wood.”

“You mean you guys are like my brother Tommy’s spirit partner Kumamon?” Yutaka blinked.

“And like Takuya’s spirit partner Agunimon?” Shinya asked amazed.

Tetsukomon and Mokuseimon nodded.

“It is no coincidence that you are here,” Tetsukomon mused as he descended from the metal platform to join them.

“Oh?” Yutaka frowned again.

“We’ve been waiting for-EVER since you guys finally came to this world!” exclaimed Mokuseimon – finally speaking in a childish voice that eerily sounded like Shinya’s own voice, and – now that Yutaka was paying attention – Tetsukomon spoke in the same manner that he did…

“Waiting for what?” Yutaka frowned, creepy voice similarities aside.

“For you of course,” Mokuseimon scoffed. “We’re going to be partners! Knew we would be the moment you stepped into our world.”

“Partners?” Shinya gaped. “Like Takuya and the others are with the other Digimon spirits?”

The two Spirit Digimon nodded once again.

“Yeah!” Mokuseimon enthused. “Shinya, you and I are gonna be an awesome team and so will Yutaka and Tetsukomon! If we can find the two meant to be Water and Earth’s partners then we’ll be set! There won’t be anything stopping us from finding and rescuing Fire, Light and the other Warriors!”

“If we can manage to break through the lock on the dimensional corridor,” Tetsukomon frowned. “Don’t get ahead of yourself, Mokuseimon. We also need to find our Beast Spirit half before any of that as well.”

Mokuseimon childishly stuck out his tongue.

“Hold on,” Yutaka sighed, running a hand tiredly over his face. “Let me get this straight… We’re going to be your human hosts…”

“Correct,” Tetsukomon nodded.

“…What does that entail exactly?” Yutaka demanded. “How will this affect us?”

The two Spirit Digimon shared a look before Tetsukomon answered.

“By becoming our human hosts, you’ll have inherited our powers,” the armored Digimon stated. “It’ll give you the ability to confront other Digimon and eventually allow you to be able to aid your brothers and the other chosen children in the fight they are facing in the other Digital World should we be able to find a way to get there ourselves. We will become a part of you, but we’ll not be able to easily communicate once we have bonded as partners. You’ll essentially become us whenever you don our Warrior forms.”

Yutaka nodded. He’d figured as much, but it was still nice to hear it if only for confirmation. Did he really want to do this? Hell! Did he even _want_ to go through with it? Should he even let Shinya do this?

“Why us?” Shinya asked the very thing Yutaka was starting to wonder.

“Because the two of you have what it takes,” Mokuseimon grinned. “You both have pure hearts and a need to improve and better yourselves. Shinya you wish to become strong to gain the respect of Takuya to prove that you’re not just his kid brother and that he can rely on you too. Yutaka, you want to prove to yourself and Tommy that you are capable of being a caring older brother and that you can and really are there for him. There’re more reasons then those of course, but those two are the obvious ones. Right Tetsu?”

Tetsukomon frowned at the shortening of his name but didn’t comment, choosing to nod instead.

“It’ll be tough,” Tetsukomon warned, “but the rewards and all the good that comes from becoming a Digimon Warrior far out way the bad things. You’ll be able to fight for your goals and have the power needed to protect your loved ones.”

“…If Takuya and Tommy and the others can do it then so can I!” Shinya declared grinning.

“Oh yeah!” Mokuseimon beamed. “No doubt about that!”

“Yutaka?” Tetsukomon prodded gently, seeing the older human’s hesitation.

Yutaka frowned in thought before looking over at Shinya who was now enthusiastically talking to his future spirit partner. He couldn’t just let Shinya walk into this alone, but was he really willing to put his own life on the line for this? He was never one for adventure and quite honestly the thought of actually having an active part in this nightmare terrified him. But then again how could he say no and not take the chance when his brother Tommy had already gone through what he and Shinya were about to when he’d had no choice at all? Here Yutaka could say no and Tetsukomon could just go find a more willing partner – in fact that’s what he wanted to do… but he really couldn’t leave Shinya. Someone had to look after the boy and hadn’t he resolved not even an hour ago that he’d watch over Shinya while the two of them were apart from their brothers?

“You’re worried,” Tetsukomon smiled. “You have an idea of what dangers lay before you and you’re cautious. That’s good. You have a good head on your shoulders Yutaka Himi, but don’t let your fear control you. You can do this. I know you can and that you’ll make an excellent warrior.”

Yutaka stared silently at the Steel Warrior before nodding. He was right after all. He could do this. He had to. For Shinya… for Tommy. He _would_ do this and when the time came he’d leave this Digital World and go find his brother and the other Warriors.

“So what happens now?” he asked.

Mokuseimon and Tetsukomon shared a look before smiling.

“It is decided,” the two of them stated in unison, “but it is not yet time. We will contact you again when it is.”

There was a sudden flare of light and when it subsided Yutaka and Shinya found themselves in the same corridor they’d been in before entering Mokuseimon’s forest room, only this time the door at the end of the hall was missing, leaving them with only the option to return to their parents.

 

** The Adventure Digital World: Location: Gennai’s Base **

Hiroaki let out a gusty sigh as the expedition team finally set out. Leaving was proving harder than he’d thought. He’d made the mistake of looking back and had caught sight of all the other parents standing there on the observation deck silently seeing him off. Nancy had caught his eye and had given him one of those sad you-had-better-come-back smiles.

She’d given him plenty of those after they’d gotten married when he’d leave late in the evening to cover someone’s night shift back when he was a new employee at the station. The looks had only gotten more severe over the years, especially during the time she’d apparently thought that he was cheating on her back when Matt had been two. How she’d come to that conclusion Hiroaki still hadn’t figured out even after all these years. He’d been too busy with his growing career and all of the overtime he’d continued to put in to be fooling around with another woman. In fact, it had been his insane workload that had eventually killed their relationship after seven years of marriage.

Being divorced and suddenly finding himself alone to care for his oldest son had finally been what had forced Hiroaki to cut back on his workload and focus on what family he still had. He felt guilty for what Matt had to put up with while growing up, but he’d tried and Matt had certainly turned out better than Hiroaki had expected considering the rotten childhood that he’d given his son.

“Penny for your thoughts, old friend?” Gabumon asked.

Hiroaki chuckled softly to himself, shaking his head.

“I’m getting old Gab (pronounced Gah-bb),” he sighed. “Old enough to look back on my life and see all the mistakes I’ve made. I’ve got a lot to make up for. To my sons especially. I owe them.”

“Tell me about them,” Gabumon suggested. “What are they like? Are either of them like you?”

“My oldest son, Matt, is,” Hiroaki laughed. “My youngest, TK, is just like his mom though. They’ve both got her family’s blond hair and blue eyes. If either of them inherited anything from me it was their becoming DigiDestined. Matt’s got a Gabumon for a partner as well. Different DigiVolution line though.”

“That’s to be expected,” his partner nodded. “All the younger Gabumon digivolve into Garurumon these days. Not many of us left follow the old line anymore. What about your other son, Hiro? Who’s his partner?”

Hiroaki smiled when he heard his old nickname. “Patamon,” he answered.

“Just like Haru then,” Gabumon smiled.

“How have you been, Gab?” Hiroaki asked. “Seen any of the other Digimon from the old team lately?”

“No,” Gabumon sighed. “We mostly went our separate ways after we last saw you and the other DigiDestined. I’d meet up with one of them from time to time over the years but then there was that whole thing with the Dark Masters and I haven’t seen any of them since.”

Hiroaki nodded.

“I haven’t seen the others since Sai and Yumi’s wedding,” he mused. “I really miss the old days. We were quite the team.”

“Sure were,” Gabumon nodded.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but are you two done reminiscing?” the Centarumon they were traveling with asked. “We’re getting close to the base of the mountain now and while we travel up it’d be best to keep quiet so that we don’t attract any unwanted attention.”

Gabumon and Hiroaki nodded and followed in silence.

Over the next couple of hours it felt as if they’d hardly made any progress at all even though there was a noticeable distance between where they were currently climbing and their starting point at the mountain’s summit. It annoyed Hiroaki that in the few hours after they’d set out that his body was already beginning to protest at all the work he was putting it through. He realized that time had not been very generous when it aged him. He could remember being Matt’s age and being able to tackle this sort of thing no problem. Hell! When he’d been ten and had first come to the Digital World, these couple hours of hiking and climbing would have been relatively easy.

“You alright?” Gabumon asked him worriedly after Hiroaki had paused momentarily for the tenth time within the last half hour.

“Fine,” Hiroaki grunted as he reached for his next handhold on the cliff face that they were currently scaling. “Like I said before… -pant- I’m getting old.”

“Don’t push yourself too hard, Hiro,” Gabumon frowned.

“…I still got a few meters left in me,” Hiroaki grunted, but paused again to watch Centarumon jump from rock cropping to rock cropping about thirty meters to his left like a damn mountain goat. How that Digimon managed to do so with a horse’s body he didn’t know. The Elecmon was making quick work of that same route as well, maintaining a good couple steps behind the horseman-Digimon. Finally after Hiroaki reached the next ledge with Gennai’s help, the expedition team stopped for a break. Hiroaki hated that they needed to take a break now when it was obvious that all of the other members of their party aside from himself looked like they could still go for a couple more hours before needing a rest. But thankfully Gennai relieved some of Hiroaki’s guilt by talking strategy.

“Once we get past the next cliff face we have a straight set path that will take us right up to the top of Infinite Mountain. However, we should proceed with caution. My scanners have detected some Digimon in this area that may be hostile at the top of these cliffs. We would do well to come up with a plan on how we wish to proceed. Any suggestions?”

“I’ve got an idea,” Centarumon stated. “I’ve heard that there is an abandoned tunnel system located around this level of the mountain. They could take us straight through the heart of the mountain and save us at least a day’s worth of traveling.”

“I know what tunnels you’re talking about, Centarumon,” Elecmon huffed, “but I personally don’t fancy being stuck below ground for too long and now that I think about it, who says that there aren’t hostile Digimon lurking around in these tunnels of yours anyways?”

“Elecmon has a point,” said a Digimon that looked like an onion shaped humanoid dressed in red and black garb with a sword slung across his back. “As much as I enjoy working in the shadows, these tunnels sound too questionable to me.”

“I agree with, Ninjamon,” a Piximon nodded. “Too many unknowns about these tunnels. Better to be caught unaware in open ground where we can all counter than in the confined limitations of the tunnels.”

“Right,” Ninjamon grinned. “I don’t fancy walking into those kinds of situations when I could be the one setting them up.”

“Does anyone else have another suggestion then?” Gennai sighed.

“…We could just proceed as we are and head to the top. We’re in open air and are more likely to spot any threats before being taken by surprise,” Hiroaki spoke up. “Only I suggest that we split up into smaller groups so that if one is attacked while still climbing the cliff face then the other groups can back them up and ward off any further advances.”

“Oh, I like the human’s plan!” Ninjamon grinned. “So long as I get to be in the first group that is. That way I can set up traps for enemies on my way up.”

“Sounds good to me,” Elecmon nodded. “Better than taking the tunnels.”

Centarumon, Piximon and the other Digimon in their party nodded as well.

“Then it’s decided,” Gennai nodded. “Shall we?”

Hiroaki’s legs protested to being used again after such a short rest, but Hiroaki knew that he could continue well enough. He was part of the first party to ascend up the cliff face to the next and last ledge with Gennai, Gabumon, Elecmon, Piximon, a couple Palmon, and Ninjamon who brought up the rear to set up his traps. Things were progressing rather smoothly until the last of their group’s three parties started their climb.

A Snimon appeared out of nowhere and launched an attack on the poor climbers. The Palmon that had come up with the first party were quick to throw down their vines to help quicken the remaining climbers’ ascent. Ninjamon launched his traps once the climbers were clear while Centarumon and Piximon launched attacks of their own to ward off the Snimon. It seemed to work but a moment later the Snimon returned with four others.

“This is not good,” Hiroaki frowned as the Snimon surrounded their party and the rookie Digimon fell back to let the higher levels take care of things. Ninjamon, Centarumon, Piximon and an Andromon went on the offensive while Elecmon, a Frigimon, and a Wizardmon kept back to remain on defense. But even with the odds in their favor things weren’t getting any better. More Snimon were coming out of Infinity Mountain’s forests in swarms.

“Hiro?” Gabumon growled.

Hiroaki looked down at his partner. Their eyes met and Hiroaki understood at once. It had been years since his digivice had actually worked, but it couldn’t hurt to try. Hiroaki pulled out his old digivice and held it out towards Gabumon. For a minute nothing happened, but then the device started to vibrate in his hand and soon he could hear the strange whistling sound that he hadn’t realized he’d missed hearing.

“Gabumon!” Hiroaki grinned.

“Lets do it,” Gabumon practically purred with a snarl. “Just like old times, Hiro.”

“Just like old times,” Hiroaki repeated. “Now digivolve!”

The familiar golden light of DigiVolution surrounded his partner and inside the light he could see as well as feel the change as his partner digivolved to his Champion level form.

“Gabumon! Digivolve too…!”

~*~*~*~*~*~

What's Gabumon going to Digivolve into? Will Alice, Minami and Kai make it to their Digital World alright? And when will Yutaka and Shinya join the ranks of the Legendary Warrior Digimon? Find out next time on Digimon: Digital Monsters!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah sorry for the cliffy at the end of the Adventure third of the story, but chapter ten will pick up right where this one left off. Now that I've got a story idea in mind for what i want this fic to do, we'll be moving out of the rehash stuff and more into the original storyline I'd originally wanted for this fic.
> 
> Anyone else besides myself enjoy seeing Alice, Minami and Kai enter the Tamer's scene? For those of you who haven't watched the movies and only the TV series, Kai is Takato's cousin from Okinawa and Minami was the girl that he and Takato helped in the movie Battle of Adventurers.
> 
> Oh and did those of you who read Drowning Memories recognize Tetsukomon? Yeah, I'm recycling the names/appearances of the four new purified Warrior Digimon that I make up just so that I don't get confused as I go back and forth between updating these stories. Just so you know, because Tetsukomon is going to be Yutaka's spirit partner in this fic he's going to be a little different from the one in Drowning Memories that Davis interacts with, and obviously I've now introduced the purified form of the Wood Warrior that appears in DM.


	11. Chapter 10: A Sobering Reality Check

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously on Digimon: Digital Monsters...
> 
> Tamers World – Hypnos learns that their corresponding world has entered lock down, separating the levels and all four of the sovereign off from each other. They realized that if they are going to get help from their Digital World at all, they’re going to have to send a child to their Digital World to lift the lockdown. Alice, Minami and Kai show up and volunteer for the job, much to Dolphin’s dismay. In spite of Alice’s uncle’s protests, Yamaki and Janyu reluctantly start making arrangements to send the children to the Digital World.
> 
> Frontier World – Shinya and Yutaka discover the Digimon Spirits of Wood and Steel, finding out that they have been chosen to become the next Warriors of Wood and Steel. It’s not yet time for them to assume the roles yet, though, so they returned to rejoin their parents.
> 
> Adventure World – Hiroaki and the expedition team set out for Infinity Mountain. The trip is uneventful until a swarm of Snimon ambushes the party. Hiroaki pulls out his old digivice and his Gabumon digivolves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I DO NOT OWN DIGIMON ADVENTURE 02, TAMERS, FRONTIER OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS!

** The Adventure Digital World: Location: Infinity Mountain **

“Gabumon! Digivolve too… Houkomon!”

Hiroaki couldn’t help but smile. It’d been a while, but his partner’s Champion form looked just as he remembered. Unlike Matt’s Gabumon partner that digivolved into Garurumon, Hiroaki’s Gabumon digivolved into the light wolf Houkomon. It looked like a Garurumon but with a pure white coat and flashing silver-grey stripes. Unlike Garurumon’s cord-like tail, Houkomon’s tail was big and bushy and his fur was longer and thicker making him look a lot bigger than Garurumon even though they were probably the same size.

“Go get ‘em,” Hiroaki smirked, feeling like he had in his younger days.

“Howling Star!” Houkomon roared before fluffing out his thick coat and launching a series of burst attacks as he breathed balls of condensed light energy that whistled and howled through the air on the way to their targets.

Hiroaki was quick to notice that Houkomon was stronger than the average Champion Digimon and was even keeping up with the Ultimate level Digimon like Piximon and Andromon. When he mentioned this to Gennai, Gennai explained that Houkomon was considered an ancient mythical Digimon now and that with age and wisdom comes power and Houkomon apparently was very well adapted at using it.

The fight was soon won and it didn’t take long for the group to decide that they should find the next opportune place to camp out for the night instead of press further on for now. Houkomon remained in Champion form though and had Hiroaki ride him. Hiroaki hated to admit it, but he was relieved and riding Houkomon allowed the party to speed up their progress. They had to travel quite a ways before finding a decent place to camp for the night and as he fell asleep against the curled up Champion form of his Digimon partner, Hiroaki began to realize just how hard this trip was going to be.

 

** The Tamer’s World: Location: Hypnos Headquarters **

Alice sighed as she sat back in one of Hypnos’ lounge chairs across the table from her two companions. They’d been told that it could take a day or two before Shibumi and Daisy managed to strengthen and widen a connection to the Digital World enough for actual travel, so for now the three would-be adventurers were relaxing.

At the moment Minami was dozing lightly while curled up on a love seat next to Kai with her head resting on his shoulder. Kai didn’t see to mind though since he had his cheek on top of her head while he watched the wall of screens to his right. The sight made Alice smile. The two made a cute couple.

“What?”

Alice looked back up at Kai who was looking at her with a curious expression. Apparently he’d either caught her looking at them or he’d seen her smile.

“Nothing,” Alice shook her head.

“Whatever,” Kai shrugged his free shoulder in response in an attempt to avoid disturbing Minami as she slept.

Alice only smiled her small reserved smile again before casting a look at the bank of monitors to her left. Takato and the other DigiDestined (minus Takuya of course. His screen was still blank) were in a store of some kind located deep underground that was run by an egg Digimon of some sort. Takato and Rika were currently cleaning the bathrooms. Kai had snickered at some of Rika’s reactions to the work.

“I bet that girl hasn’t had to clean a bathroom once in her entire life,” he chuckled when the flaming redhead started to mop the floor for a second time while Takato’s channel revealed that he was headed for the next floor’s bathroom.

Alice shook her head remembering how indignant the girl’s mother had sounded half an hour earlier when she’d overheard the conversation that her daughter had before cleaning a public toilet.

“What do you think the Digital World is going to be like?” Kai asked. “Do you think it’s going to be anything like what we’re seeing Takato and the others go through?”

“I doubt it,” Alice frowned. “From what I’ve heard by watching that Izzi guy, every Digital World differs in some way or another… why?”

“I just don’t want to be cleaning toilets while I’m there,” Kai grinned.

Alice snorted and shook her head. Always the joker. And here she’d thought Kai was being serious for once.

“I’m sure we’ll have plenty of other things to do while we’re there,” Alice shook her head. “According Mister Shibumi, the Digital World running parallel to ours is a tier system and has a series of levels with the Digimon Sovereign living in the highest level. We’re more than likely going to be arriving on the lowest level and will have to work our way up. I’d be prepared for a long trip if I were you, so enjoy the time we have left here.”

Kai studied her for a moment before nodding and returned his attention to the wall of screens. An hour later the three of them were called to the control room where the Monster Makers team was still working to get connections back up to the Digital World… or any world for that matter.

“What’s up?” Kai asked once they were seated around a conference table with Yamaki, Janyu Wong, Dolphin, Curly, and Bable.

“Things are moving along faster than planned,” Janyu reported. “Shibumi has reported that with the Sovereign’s help he and Daisy can have a portal open as early as midnight tonight. We’ve contacted your families and they’re coming here to see you off.”

“I’m afraid that we can’t tell you what to expect once you reach the Digital World, but don’t expect the journey there to be comfortable,” Bable sighed.

“The Sovereign will do their best to keep the portal open on their end long enough for you to arrive, but there is a time window,” Curly stated.

“Once you get there you’ll be on your own,” Dolphin said seriously. “We can’t help you. The three of you need to stick together and help each other through this.”

“I’ve developed a communications device similar to the one I gave Takato when he and the others went to the Digital World to rescue Calumon,” Yamaki sighed, sliding a rectangular device across the table to Alice. “I can’t guarantee that it’ll work at first, but the more levels you unlock and the closer you get to the Sovereign, the stronger the signal will get and we may be able to track you from here. I want you all to send us updates as often as you can. The messages may not get through to us right away, but we’ll get them eventually. From what I could figure out based off of what Takato told me of his experiences with the one I gave him, the device will work better in what he called dead zones where he was sheltered from the Digital World’s processing core. I doubt it’ll be fully operational since the entire world is in lock down so you might not have any trouble getting through to us at all, but we won’t know for sure until you get there.”

“Got it,” Alice nodded as she flipped the device open and began to experiment so that she could be familiar with its components.

“Another thing you need to be aware of while you’re in the Digital World is that it’s a world where a lot of the things are mind over matter, and may not be as they appear,” Janyu stated. “My son Henry figured out that you can breathe under water in that world so long as you believe that you can and that you’re not going to drown. He didn’t even get wet when he experimented with this concept all because he thought that he wouldn’t.”

“Sweet,” Kai grinned.

“Perhaps, but sometimes it’s hard to trick the mind into believing something that’s the opposite of what’s expected,” Minami said nervously.

“Exactly,” Yamaki nodded. “Takato had some problems grasping that concept as well. It’s hard to fool the brain into believing the opposite of something that it’s so sure is true.”

“So what do we do now?” Alice asked.

“I suggest that you three pack for your trip,” Dolphin sighed. “I’m sure the others will be more than happy to help you until your own parents arrive to say their goodbyes.”

The three nodded and were about to get up and pack when a Hypnos agent burst into the room.

“Sir! We have a situation,” the man said.

“What is it?” Yamaki demanded.

The agent pulled up a screen and played a sequence of video from what appeared to be Takato’s channel with a large screen in the background with the image of a lovely woman on it.

“ _Oh DigiDestined_ ~!” a silky voice chimed through the room’s speakers. “ _I know you’re down there somewhere. I am personally inviting you to my humble abode. I have a friend of yours visiting with me and he is just_ dying _to see you again. Hurry now! It’s not nice to keep your friend and a lady waiting_!”

“Who is she?” Yamaki asked. “The one who spoke.”

“The woman’s name is Aiyokumon,” the agent answered promptly. “According to the egg Digimon, Digitamamon, she is one of seven powerful Digimon that call themselves the Zaigou and have helped an evil Digimon Kushyamon take over the Digital World. She has control over the region that the children are currently in.”

“And she has the missing Takuya boy,” Janyu frowned.

“Apparently, sir,” the man nodded.

“Is the boy’s channel still blank?” Curly asked.

“Yes ma’am,” the agent nodded. “A few hours ago we’d gotten a few flickering images, but they were very fleeting and vague. It’s as if something is interfering with his channel’s signal.”

“Alright,” Yamaki nodded. “Keep me updated on the situation and let me know if there’s any change.”

“What are Takato and the others doing now?” Kai asked.

“Planning what to do next,” the agent sighed. “The friends of the captured boy want to go confront Aiyokumon while the children from our world want to hang back and come up with a strategy of some kind. The older children from the third world seem to be somewhere in between. Their leader, Tai, seems to be holding things together well enough though.”

“The young man’s leadership skills are quite remarkable,” Curly nodded.

“Keep us updated on that situation too,” Yamaki ordered the agent before getting up.

Kai, Alice and Minami followed suit and left to get ready to go to the Digital World. Janyu escorted the three back to the living areas where they were met by Mayumi Wong and some of the other mothers. They had already sorted out some packs and essential items so the packing didn’t take long. They all sat back to watch the screens as the argument about what to do ensued between the three groups of children from different worlds. The debate seemed to go on forever but finally a plan was made as a compromise to look into the mountain’s tunnel system before going to confront the evil Digimon was agreed upon. Takato was just starting to tell his story about what had happened to him, Tai and Takuya in the tunnels before they met up with the others when Kai and Minami’s families arrived.

Alice watched as the two of them interact with their parents. Kai was rolling his eyes at something his grandfather was saying while being hugged by his mother and father. Minami was hugging her dad and trying to reassure him that she was going to be fine.

“Your mom and dad should be here soon too.”

Alice looked up just as her uncle wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

“…Yeah,” she nodded. “Eventually.”

Her uncle smiled understandingly down at her.

After seeing Alice alone, Minami dragged her father over to meet Alice and then the three of them went to talk to Kai’s family. 11 o’clock rolled around and Alice’s parents still weren’t there, so Dolphin called his brother to check up on them and give them new directions. Meanwhile, everyone got into cars and made the trip to the park where Shibumi and Daisy were prepping the equipment that would send Kai, Minami and Alice to the Digital World.

“We’re almost ready,” Daisy informed the large gathered group at a quarter to midnight. “Just give us another five to ten minutes.”

“After that you have a ten minute window to enter the Digital World,” Shibumi stated. “I suggest waiting a couple minutes for the portal to stabilize first before departing.”

The three soon-to-be adventurers nodded and turned to the gathered families to say their last goodbyes. Just as she was wishing the Wongs and her uncle goodbye, Alice finally saw her parent’s car pull up. Her mother and father scrambled out of the vehicle and raced up the hill. She didn’t have a chance to greet them before she was engulfed in a nearly suffocating hug from her mother.

“ **Please don’t go sweetheart** ,” Sheri McCoy pleaded in English.

“ **Mom** ,” Alice sighed. “ **I have to. There is no one else and Kai and Minami are going to need me**.”

Her mother only held her tighter in response.

“ **You just be careful, sweetie** ,” Patrick McCoy sighed, kissing the top of her head since he couldn’t get past his wife to give his daughter a hug. “ **Come back safe**.”

“ **Yes, Dad** ,” Alice smiled, fighting back tears.

Both of her parents held her for a long moment before Shibumi finally said, “It’s ready when you three are.”

Alice, Minami and Kai nodded and gave their families one last goodbye before approaching the glowing portal situated in the back of Guilmon’s old home.

“Portal stabilized and ready for travel,” Daisy reported.

“Are you three ready?” Yamaki asked.

“Oh yeah,” Kai grinned.

“I think so,” Minami whispered.

“As ready as we’ll ever be,” Alice stated. “Shall we?”

Kai and Minami nodded before taking each other’s hand. Since she was in the middle of the group, Minami grabbed Alice’s hand too and together they faced the portal.

“Remember to stay in touch with Yamaki’s communication device and to send regular reports,” Janyu said.

“Be safe and stick together,” a worried Dolphin added.

“We will,” Alice smiled back confidently and without another word the three of them stepped through the portal and were on their way to the Digital World.

Yamaki sighed and just as everyone was preparing to head back to Hypnos Headquarters his phone rang.

“This is Yamaki.”

“Sir! We have a major situation,” an agent informed him. “The children have confronted Aiyokumon and now Koji Minamoto is fighting Takuya Kanbara! That evil Digimon’s possessing the boy or something. You need to get back here right away, sir.”

“Got it,” Yamaki said curtly. “Everyone! Hurry back to Hypnos Tower! Something’s going down in that other Digital World!”

 

** The Frontier Digital World: Location: The Celestial Digimon’s Castle **

Yutaka and Shinya had just gotten back to the room where they’d left their parents when the commotion started.

“What has she done to my son?!” Yuriko Kanbara cried.

Confused, Shinya and Yutaka looked up at the screens and saw that Takuya’s channel had come back again but it was fuzzy and staticy. On some of the other channels though, Takuya could be seen standing next to a very beautiful looking woman with a vacant expression on his face.

“ _What have you done to him_?” Koji’s voice demanded, booming out of the speakers.

The woman stood up from her seat and tilted Takuya’s chin in her direction.

“ _I cast some of my best spells and used high quality potions on him_ ,” she answered matter-of-factly. “ _I found that the Warrior Spirit of Flame inside of him protected the body whenever Takuya was incapable of doing so himself, like, oh say, when he’s unconscious. So I had to take Agunimon out first by using a powerful potion. Then, deciding to have some fun with a forceful possession, I cut Takuya’s own spirit and consciousness off from his physical body and battled with him for domination over his mind, imprisoning him inside it. So the Takuya you know and love is still here deep inside, but is incapable of doing anything along with the spirit of Agunimon. He is the perfect puppet, mine to command at will._ ”

As if to prove her point, Takuya’s arm slowly wound around her slim hourglass frame. Shinya felt sick seeing his big brother like that. Takuya was his role model and now he was nothing more than this witch’s puppet.

“ _It seems our visit has come to an end and the time for talk is over. Takuya darling? Get rid of them please_ ,” the woman purred in Takuya’s ear.

Then she disappeared, but Takuya remained standing where he was. Everything was silent for a moment, everyone waiting to see what would happen next.

“ _Takuya_?” Koji finally said tentatively.

Takuya turned to face Koji and then suddenly he was right in front of him throwing a well-aimed kick at the other boy’s gut. Luckily Koji deflected the blow and was quick enough to block the oncoming punch to his face.

“ _Takuya_!” he growled. “ _Please, you have to snap out of it! I know you’re in there somewhere! You have to fight her_!”

“ _He can’t, Koji_ ,” they all heard Koichi say. “ _I can feel the shadows that fog his mind. He’s buried so deep inside his own mind that he’s not even present_.”

Shinya teared up. This was not his brother. Takuya would never attack his friends like that. Looking at the staticy channel that was supposed to be Takuya’s just made him want to cry. Was his brother even in there any more? It didn’t appear that way even if what the evil lady said was true. Especially when Takuya took the form of Agunimon. Now his brother was nothing more than a mindless Digimon puppet whose only purpose was to hurt his old friends.

Shinya was surprised to feel a firm hand on his shoulder a second later. Looking up he saw Yutaka standing next to him with a grim expression on his face. Together they watched the fight behind the crowded group of parents seated at the table, flinching whenever someone was dealt a serious blow. The shouted orders coming from Koji, JP and Zoe to each other were lost on them as they watched poor Takuya get beaten back time and again, but the worse bit was seeing the possessed boy stop and throw up large amounts of blood. Shinya started to cry after seeing this.

“ _Takuya, please stop_ ,” Zoe’s voice pleaded. “ _You’re killing yourself_!”

“But he can’t stop,” Shinya sniffed. “He wouldn’t be doing this if he could.”

Yutaka crouched down beside the now sobbing child and held him close. Then all of the screens whited out for a minute. When the channels refocused Takuya’s went dark again, but Agunimon was still fighting Koji (Lobomon). The duel between the two of them was heated and fast paced, making their darting attacks blurred and hard to follow. But when Koji lunged to strike Takuya, the possessed boy’s Digimon form suddenly unraveled and Takuya’s human body lay collapsed on the ground, breathing in ragged and desperate gasps trying to fill his lungs with air. Blood was pooling in his mouth, coming up with every labored breath and cough. The sight made Yuriko cry out for her son and Shinya couldn’t seem to look away. Yutaka forced the young boy’s gaze away from the screens and held him even tighter. Shinya buried his face into Yutaka’s shirt sobbing uncontrollably. This couldn’t be happening. This couldn’t be real.

The two of them jumped when they heard Takuya’s voice cry out shrilly through the speakers in pain. In the background of every channel something that looked like lava exploded over stone walls and lit up the screens. Takuya’s body seemed to burst into flame and changed again; not into Agunimon but into a similar form that looked like Agunimon only with fiery bird’s wings and a serpentine tail.

Koji was sent flying into the Digimon forms of JP and Zoe. They caught him just as he reverted back into his human self. The next thing any of those watching the screens saw was a giant fireball hurtling towards the three on their channels.

“ _Blizzard Blaster_!”

Tommy’s Digimon form was suddenly there with a fire Digimon that Yutaka vaguely remembered from the caves when this whole thing had started. It was one of the forms belonging to that Davis kid’s Digimon if he remembered right. Tommy’s blaster pumped out snowballs and dissipating the fire into mist while the other Digimon’s fists extinguished any pieces that he had missed. Yutaka felt tense. It had been one thing to watch the others fight the possessed Takuya, but now Tommy was getting into the fight. His little brother’s Digimon form was just so small compared to the others… He barely heard anything that Tommy was saying as he quickly explained to Koji, JP and Zoe that the other children had wanted to help, but only the Digimon with fire attributes had been able to Digivolve. Flamedramon – that was apparently the fire lizard’s name – had been the only one that would have been of any help fighting in the current environment.

“ _Koichi is getting everyone out_ ,” Tommy told them, ending his brief explanation. “ _Aldamon is tearing the whole place down. We’ve gotta stop him_.”

Yutaka figured that Aldamon was the name of Takuya’s current Digimon form. Shinya had stopped crying for the moment and was watching again. Yutaka had a bad feeling and didn’t think that Takuya wasn’t going to survive this. There was just no way after seeing what sort of condition the boy had been in when last in his human form. But still, Yutaka held Shinya close and remained crouched down – on his knees – and watched numbly as Koji got back up and pulled out his D-Tector thingy out again.

“ _Leave this to me_ ,” he said. “ _I’m the only one that can stop him_.”

“No!” cried the boy’s three parents – both mothers looking like they were going to cry. Yutaka couldn’t blame them, but some selfish part of him was glad that it’d be Koji and not Tommy fighting Takuya.

“ _Enough of the lone wolf act, bud_ ,” JP’s Digimon form growled, sounding irked. “ _I thought that you had learned that already. Besides, you look beat_.”

“ _He’s right, we’re a team_!” Zoe added angrily.

“ _Can any of you fusion evolve_?” Koji asked.

None of them answered. Yutaka didn’t know what this fusion thing was, but based on the three’s lack of response it appeared that it was something only Koji and Takuya were able to.

Koji then changed into what looked like an upgraded version of his Lobomon form with a golden-clawed sword, and took off without another word.

“ _Lets back him up anyways_ ,” Tommy nodded, changing from his small bear form into a large yeti snow-beast type Digimon. Yutaka was stunned. This form looked far more formidable than the snow bear, but that didn’t stop him from worrying. The form may have changed, but his little brother was still in there.

Zoe and JP followed suit and became a bird woman and a tank version of Beetlemon with Flamedramon following them silently. Koji was already fighting with Takuya (Aldamon) and it looked as if their fight was bringing the whole place down around them and on top of the others. Koji was loosing now though and a few minutes later Takuya threw him to the ground in a heap, just missing a puddle of lava on his right. Zoe’s voice call out to him, but Koji didn’t respond and his channel became a little fuzzy with static. This worried the Minamoto’s and Mrs. Kimura, but Yutaka was too busy watching Tommy and JP’s channels as they called out to the downed boy too. The channel suddenly cleared but Takuya was there now, trying to crush Koji into the ground.

“Takuya, no,” Shinya sobbed as Koji’s channel began to static up again.

When it cleared again seconds later Takuya was gone from the channel. Yutaka watched in horror as he saw Tommy charged in with twin axes. JP was firing at Takuya from a distance while Zoe and Flamedramon joined Tommy in defending the fallen Koji. Koji’s Digimon form was flickering, giving them glimpses of the boy within, but eventually the form settled back down.

Zoe screamed in terror and Yutaka turned his attention to her channel just in time to see her Digimon form unravel and return her to normal as she was thrown a good distance away. The girl’s parents cried out in alarm but were relieved to see her struggle to her feet with only a few scratches. Tommy’s pained and angry roar could be heard next. The sound of it chilled Yutaka to the bone as he watched his little brother bravely defend Zoe with Flamedramon, but both were soon reverted back to being a human and a little Digimon. Yutaka flinched when he saw Digimon-Takuya move to strike Tommy but at the last second was blasted back.

Only JP was left in a fighting position and kept up a series of attacks to lure the possessed Takuya away from the others. The older boy managed to keep up a steady and consistent barrage of attacks from his distant vantage point, but Aldamon silenced him too eventually after circling around, beating him down until he reverted back to his human form like Zoe and Tommy. Their moans and that witch’s cheerful laughter could be heard clearly through the speakers making nearly everyone in the room feel nauseous. The voices of the other DigiDestined could also be heard cheering desperately far from the battle, encouraging the five fighters not to give up.

Just when things seemed to be at their worst the moon came out, casting it’s light down. When the beams hit Koji his form began to glow.

“It appears that this is not over just yet,” Ophanimon’s voice said softly. “Not if Koji has something to say about it anyway.”

Yutaka started. He wasn’t sure when, but both Ophanimon and Seraphimon were now present and watching the fight.

Koji suddenly launched himself at Takuya, ignoring the protesting cries that came from his wounded friends. He seemed to have taken his opponent by surprise. They resumed their brutal attack patterns again, but Koji had gained the upper hand with his surprising comeback. Takuya’s actions were more panicked and flustered this time around as he tried to fend the other off. Yutaka couldn’t help but wonder what had changed. Koji actually got a powerful attack to make contact and sent the flaming Digimon hurtling into the ground as it had done to him only minutes ago and wasted no time with a follow up attack. But something wasn’t right. Yutaka could feel it.

“ _NO_!” Zoe’s voice screamed as Koji changed forms again back into Lobomon. The Digimon’s blade of light energy was aimed right at Takuya’s chest. Tommy and JP yelled out to him as well, but were ignored. Yutaka finally caught on to what the other three had realized. Koji’s attack wasn’t aimed to disarm… it was meant to kill.

But again for a second time during the battle Takuya changed back into his human body. Lobomon cursed and his blade stopped just millimeters from piercing flesh. No one could speak. They were all just too stunned. It was so quiet in that room that a pin dropping would have sounded like a gunshot and it wasn’t just because Koji had obviously intended to kill Takuya with that last attack. It was also the gore that they faced. Takuya’s body was badly beaten from the abuse it had received within the last hour. Blood was oozing from the various cuts and gurgling up from his infected lung. What was worse though was that Takuya’s mouth became contorted in a satisfied grin, but it wasn’t Takuya’s grin.

A giggling voice came bubbling out from between the blood stained lips. Koji didn’t move but they could all see the frustrated tears welling up in his eyes. Zoe, JP and Tommy could be seen on their screens approaching their friend warily. It was silent again for a long while but what happened next, no one was prepared for.

Koji hadn’t moved his blade from its close proximity to the possessed boy’s chest. In fact, he hadn’t budged at all and the woman’s voice laughed aloud from inside Takuya’s limp body. But then Takuya’s arms moved. They grabbed hold of Lobomon’s blade and thrust the point into Takuya’s chest, a crimson stain blooming underneath the yellow and red shirts. Everyone stared, shocked, as Takuya’s brown eyes flew open and his mouth formed an angry ‘O,’ but the expression soon softened. The clouded eyes became clear and the mouth formed a content smile. Takuya was back and his channel fizzling back to life proved it, but it was horribly staticy and nothing could be seen on it clearly within the digital snow.

Koji quickly withdrew the blade but with it came an explosion of dark energy that dimmed the screens belonging to the channels of those where were standing near Takuya. The dark energy gathered into a misshapen shadow that soon became solid. Zoe, JP, and Tommy looked shocked and confused to see it coming out of Takuya’s body through the gaping wound while Koji only looked on grimly. The shadow figure shrieked and twisted and writhed in the air, cursing the Warriors of Light and Flame before dissipating and vanishing completely in a puff of smoke. But that thing wasn’t the only creature to have come out of Takuya’s body. The woman was back too.

“ _How dare you! You’ve killed your own friend_!” she shrieked. “ _You wrecked my possession! My master will not be pleased to hear you’ve ruined his plans! Join your precious friend in death_!”

She lashed out at Koji with a black whip and threw him into a cracked standing section of a demolished wall. But Koji was so exhausted from the prolonged battle that he couldn’t hold his Digimon form any more and reverted back to his human one while sliding down to the ground. His friends and parents cried out for him as the woman drew a sinister looking bald from the folds of her dress. She lifted the sword and he braced himself for the coming blow. Everyone was so focused on what was happening to Koji that they didn’t see Takuya’s channel clear up for a brief moment. One minute Koji was about to be skewered on the woman’s sword and the next Takuya appeared as Agunimon in front of him and took the blow that was meant for Koji in the gut. The blade had no problem piercing through Agunimon’s armor and slicing through him with a sickening: Thunck! that echoed eerily through the speakers.

“NO!” Shinya sobbed in unison with his parents at the sight.

Everyone stared at Koji’s screen (since Takuya’s had staticed out again), unable to comprehend in that moment what had just happened. The woman looked surprised to see Takuya as well with his blood flowing freely from the new and definitely fatal wound.

“ _Still able to play one last round after all, my fire puppet_?” she mused.

“ _Well… you know… what they say…”_ Takuya somehow managed to rasp. _“When you… play with fire… you’re bound… to get… burned…_ ”

He ignited himself and spread the flames onto the witch through her sword’s blade that was now soaked with his blood. His blood proved to be highly flammable and the spatter that had hit her when she struck him caught automatically. She shrieked in pain as Takuya released a mighty thrust of fire, throwing her into a lava stream close by. He continued to burn her until she burst into shards of data. He was human again once she was gone and he collapsed in a bloody heap.

There wasn’t a dry eye in the room as everyone watched Koji cradle his broken friend in his arms, desperately clinging to him as if holding him close would somehow stop the blood from flowing from the two wounds.

“ _Koji… Thank… you_ ,” Takuya gasped, smiling faintly up at him as the others joined them. “ _You… kept your... promise…_ ”

Koji shook his head.

“ _No_ ,” he choked. “ _I couldn’t. It was all you in the end. I had failed._ ”

“ _What’s he talking about_?” Zoe whispered hoarsely to JP and Tommy. Frankly Yutaka and Shinya wanted to know that too.

Takuya’s head jerked in a negative motion.

“ _No… You di…dn’t…_ ”

Takuya raised his hand up in a fist.

Koji cried openly at the gesture as he raised his fist as well to lightly tap it against Takuya’s before taking the hand into his own.

It was then that the other DigiDestined arrived on the scene and Koichi took his place among his friends beside Koji. Takuya looked at each of them in turn, ending with Zoe. She gently took his hand away from Koji and held it in her own. No words were exchanged between them, but Yutaka saw meaning in their gaze. He wondered if any of their parent’s noticed it too. Tommy was crying with JP’s arm around his shoulders while the older boy allowed his own tears to fall silently. Koichi was resting his head on Koji’s shoulder.

The other DigiDestined hung back and allowed the five to share each other’s company in their friend’s final moments. Those who wore hats or goggles removed them out of respect. Yutaka’s heart ached seeing Tommy cry and wanted nothing more than to be the one to comfort his brother, but at the moment there was someone else who needed him more. Shinya was sobbing uncontrollably as he watched his brother’s channel go out once more as Takuya breathed his last few breaths before peacefully passing away surrounded by friends. The Kanbara parents weren’t much better, sobbing in each others arms while the other parents stood around them offering their silent support.

Yutaka collected Shinya into his arms and carried him over to his parents who scooped up their remaining son instantly. Yutaka caught the eyes of his own parents and walked over to them. For the first time probably since he was Tommy’s age, he initiated a hug between himself and his mother and simply held her as she cried too. As he watched the Kanbara’s grieve for their lost son – one that they wouldn’t even get to bury – he felt a strong wave of resolve wash over him. He vowed to be there for Shinya in Takuya’s stead. Together the two of them would become the next DigiDestined Warriors of Steel and Wood and find the others to bring them back safely. He hoped that the time would come soon.

 

** The Adventure Digital World: Location: Infinity Mountain **

Over the next day-and-a-half Hiroaki rode on Houkomon’s back for most of the remaining trip up the mountain path. They had encountered a few more angry and territorial Digimon, but not many had wanted to fight them since Houkomon was with them. Hiroaki supposed that being an ancient powerful legendary Digimon had that kind of effect on others. This allowed their party to reach the top of Infinity Mountain after traveling for two and a half days. It was then that Hiroaki was able to prove his usefulness to the group and helped Gennai set up the equipment they’d brought up with them. Between the two of them they were able to get communications set up and back to base up within a couple hours sending word to the others that they’d been successful in reaching the top of the mountain. But the news that they received back was disheartening.

The boy Takuya Kanbara had died in battle.

Hiroaki couldn’t believe it. In all his time and experience as a DigiDestined and as a father to two members of the most recent generation of DigiDestined, he’d never really thought that things wouldn’t work out in the end. No one had ever died before. A few had come close and some got injured badly, but no one had ever died. The news had a sobering effect on him, but it jarred him into a mode of pure determination. It was time to focus. So far they’d managed to reach the top of Infinity Mountain with the communication’s equipment. Now came the hard part. Actually establishing contact with an outside world.

~*~*~*~*~*~

So how will Alice, Minami and Kai fair in the Digital World? When will Shinya and Yutaka become Warrior DigiDestined? And will Hiroaki and Gennai be able to reach out to an other world? I suppose you'll just have to wait and see in the next Digimon: Digital Monsters!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really couldn't think of what to do for the Tamers section of the story so i ended up rushing getting Alice, Minami and Kai to the Digital World. Hope no one minds. I also hate that the Adventure section(s) of this chapter was so short too, but after coming up with Houkomon (how do you guys like him by the way?) and ending the battle I really couldn't come up with anything else to maintain a timeline (hence that bit at the end).


	12. Chapter 11: Adventures Start!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously on Digimon: Digital Monsters...
> 
> Adventure World – Gabumon digivolves into Houkomon and helps to defeat the Snimon swarms. Once that’s dealt with, the group moves on up the mountain, Hiroaki hiding Houkomon until they set camp for the night. It takes them another day and a half to reach the top.
> 
> Tamers World – The portal to the Digital World gets finished sooner than anticipated so at Mid-night Alice, Kai, and Minami say good-bye to their families and the other parents before departing for the Digital World. After they’re gone, however, Yamaki receives word that Takuya is possessed and is attacking the DigiDestined in that other Digital World.
> 
> Frontier World – The families watch as a possessed Takuya fights his friends to a very bloody end that results in his death. The Kanbara family is devastated and Yutaka Himi resolves to be there for Shinya when the time comes for them the join the ranks of the Warrior DigiDestined in Takuya’s stead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I DO NOT OWN DIGIMON ADVENTURE 02, TAMERS, FRONTIER OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS!

** The Frontier Digital World: Location: The Celestial Digimon’s Castle **

Shinya woke up feeling groggy. His eyes ached, his chest felt tight, and his throat and lungs were sore. As he sat up he saw his parents nestled on either side of him. Shinya managed to wiggle out of their hold without waking them before making his way to the door. His clothes were rumpled with sleep and he felt a little sticky. When was the last time he’d showered? He sighed miserably before leaving the room and headed towards the bathroom he’d seen when they first arrived. He was relieved to find a shower. When he was finished he found that his clothes had been taken away and replaced with a clean set. The shirt was a deep scarlet with a yellow fireball on the front and the shorts were tan… Takuya’s colors. Shinya clutched the clothes tightly to his chest for a moment before putting them on.

When he exited the bathroom he didn’t feel like returning to his parents’ room so he entered the lounge. No one was there and that suited him just fine. It was early in the morning and everyone else was more than likely still asleep. With a sigh he looked up at the screens and watched the other DigiDestined. Most were still asleep, but none of them appeared to be sleeping well. A couple of them – Koji, Zoe and that Tai guy – were awake though and lost in their own thoughts. Koji looked the worst. Shinya recalled how last night Koji had told everyone about his promise to Takuya. About his promise to kill Shinya’s brother. Shinya wanted to hate Koji – he really did – but after watching him cry over Takuya’s death, to see Zoe forgive the older boy, and to now watch Koji stare miserably into space looking just as bad as Shinya himself felt… How could he hate him? How could he blame him?

Not wanting to think about it anymore Shinya exited the common room to wander the castle and let his feet take him wherever they wanted. He passed many murals and wall paintings of his brother and each one was like another nail in his brother’s coffin. Before he knew it he found himself in that forest hall again, but it was dark and near quiet. That didn’t matter to Shinya. It was the first appropriate room that fit his mood. He found a nice round bolder to sit on and just allowed himself to go numb and shut down. He didn’t want to think and he was sick of crying. All he wanted to do was just stop functioning for now. He was so zoned out that he didn’t notice the light off to his left for a full five minutes. When he did he sighed and decided to check it out. He was surprised to see the light coming from a tree. It’s trunk’s bark was translucent and displaying an image that was becoming clearer every second.

It took him a moment, but finally he recognized the soccer field behind Takuya’s school. The field was full of people and all of them were holding candles. Shinya started numbly as he watched the members of his brother’s soccer team erect a shrine. After the shrine was finished people began to set down candles and flowers and stuffed animals around it. More people and children from other schools – Shinya’s included – entered the field and lay down their own candles and flowers. Then the school’s choir gathered and began to sing. Other people joined in too and a minute later the forest was filled with song.

Looking around Shinya noticed that other trees nearby were lighting up with images of their own. Wandering from tree to tree Shinya saw other memorial services being held for his brother. A lot of them were not even in Japan. There was a service being held late at night in New York where people filled the streets of Times Square with candles. Similar services were being held in Paris, Beijing, London and many other countries in major cities around the world. The sight of all these people grieving his brother’s loss and offering up prayers to his family made a flash of pride swell through his heart. His brother was what had inspired this. The world had only been watching him for a few days but he had made enough of an impact on them that tonight he was in everyone’s hearts and prayers. Takuya had gained the support and earned the respect of the world. If that wasn’t a reason to be proud of the great person that his brother had been, he didn’t know what was.

The displays warmed him and even brought a teary smile to his lips.

“Can you see this Taky?” he whispered. “The whole world is mourning your death. You’re a hero.”

“It’s not just your home world either,” someone said.

Jumping, Shinya turned and saw Mokuseimon the Warrior Spirit of Wood standing nearby. The Digimon boy gestured to one of the trees he hadn’t gotten to yet.

“That’s Hypnos Headquarters in the Tamer’s world,” he said. “They’re mourning your brother as well. His death rattled the parents badly since they just sent three other children to their Digital World in hopes of finding a way to break through the Dimensional Corridor lockdown we’re in. If they succeed then they may be able to find a way to bring their children back. And over here is the Digital World that Tai’s group is from. The parents there are mourning Takuya too. It’s not just them either. Your brother is being mourned all across the universe in hundreds, maybe a thousand different earths, different realities, and all of their Digital Worlds. You were right you know. Your brother died a hero. Billions of humans and Digimon will honor him. And not out of pity. Not because he was possessed and everyone feels sorry for what happened to him. They mourn and honor him because in his last moments he found the strength to break that witch’s spell. Because he sacrificed himself to save the others… Because with his remaining strength he not only defeated Aiyokumon, he destroyed her as well and rid the universe of one less evil.”

Shinya smiled sadly, but he was very proud. His brother was a hero.

“I hope I can live up to his courage,” Shinya whispered. “I want to be just as good as he was. I want to become the warrior… the brother that would have made him proud.”

“I believe you can,” Mokuseimon smiled. “With me as your spirit partner how could you not?”

Shinya laughed and looked back to the glowing forest displaying all of the memorials being held in memory of Takuya.

“You won’t be alone either,” someone else said.

Shinya wasn’t surprised to see Yutaka and Tetsukomon standing nearby.

“Right,” Shinya smiled. “Because we’ll succeed as long as we act as a team.”

Yutaka nodded. “As a team.”

“…I think you two are ready to become Legendary Warriors,” Tetsukomon stated.

“Really? All ready?” Shinya gaped.

“I thought you said it wasn’t time for us yet?” Yutaka blinked.

“If you both can work past your grief and look forward to tomorrow, then yes,” the Warrior of Steel nodded.

“It’s time?” Mokuseimon beamed.

“It is time,” Tetsukomon nodded holding out one hand towards Yutaka.

Mokuseimon did the same towards Shinya.

There was a ringing sound emitting from his and Yutaka’s pockets so the two of them pulled out their cellphones. The phones were glowing brightly before they changed shape and into the D-Tectors that Takuya and the other Warrior DigiDestined carried. Shinya gapped at his green and brown digivice. Yutaka’s was silver and grey.

“Now point your D-Tectors at us,” Tetsukomon instructed.

Shinya and Yutaka did as they were told. The devices lit up again and Tetsukomon and Mokuseimon shrank down into idols and were zapped into the devices. Looking at the digivices in awe Yutaka and Shinya could suddenly feel a rush of power. They only had to look at each other once and knew what to do next.

“EXECUTE! SPIRIT EVOLUTION!”

They were cocooned in data and when they emerged they were Tetsukomon and Mokuseimon.

“Whoa,” Shinya said in awe after a moment. “This is weird. I can feel every tree!”

“I can sense every metallic mineral in the earth,” Yutaka muttered.

Shinya twirled his quarterstaff around experimentally excited that the movements were instinctive and came naturally. Yutaka did the same with his sword.

“…It’s weird,” Shinya said again.

“Only a little,” Yutaka shrugged as he sheathed his blade.

“No, I mean… I can’t hear him. Mokuseimon’s spirit,” Shinya explained.

Yutaka paused and cocked his head to the side as if that would help him hear.

“Neither can I,” the older boy admitted.

“Are they gone? By becoming them did we take their place?” Shinya frowned.

“I don’t think so,” Yutaka shook his head. “I’m sure they’re still with us. I can’t hear Tetsukomon… but I can feel him in every movement I make and every mineral I sense. Just close your eyes and focus. Maybe you can feel Mokuseimon then too.”

Shinya did as he was told and focused. At first he thought that it wasn’t working, but then he felt a warm feeling spread from within his chest. An energy he’d never felt before filled his body and a whisper of a laugh echoed in his mind. He smiled. The Wood Warrior Spirit was still very much alive within him.

“So you’ve arrived at last Warriors of Wood and Steel. And at a time you’ll be needed most too.”

Yutaka and Shinya looked up and saw Ophanimon standing before them smiling gently.

“As newly appointed Warriors, I wish to ask you two to do me a favor,” Ophanimon stated. “I’m sure you two are more aware of the situation than your parents, but right now our world is incapable of communicating with ANY outside world. I hope you two don’t mind making a journey to Flame Terminal. It is the only physical linking connection we have to the human world. It hasn’t been fully functional since it was destroyed during Lucemon’s attempt to reach your world. As the Warrior’s of Wood and Steel you’ll be able to help speed the reconstruction process along and maybe succeed in reaching the human world through it’s connection. And perhaps along the way you two will find your Beast Spirit partners, and maybe ultimately find host candidates for the remaining two Warrior Spirits. It’s quite a ways from here, but I have faith that you two will succeed. Will you go?”

“If it will help, then yes,” Yutaka nodded.

Shinya nodded too. “When do we leave?”

“As soon as you are ready,” Ophanimon smiled. “Be sure to take time to say goodbye to your parents before you depart. Nefertimon will help guide you down to Forest Terminal where your guides will be ready to help escort you to Flame Terminal.”

 

** Tamer Digital World: Location: Level 1 **

Minami groaned as she rose to her feet. The trip to the Digital World had been horrible. The moment she had passed through the gate it had felt as if she’d dropped into a free fall. She’d clung to Kai and Alice’s hands for all her worth, but they were quickly ripped away from her grasp. She could recall screaming, as the fall seemed to toss her around like a rag doll down that dark hole. Then she entered the Digital World and she’d never been more frightened or more in awe of the sight before her. There was a grey stormy sky with patches of scared pixilated sections that cut gaping holes in the sky. There was an orb high above that she assumed was the Digital World’s data core. It was roiling red and black hanging up there like some poisoned sun.

She didn’t remember landing, but if her body’s protests were anything to go by it had been rough and that she was lucky to have survived. She was lucky to have landed in this sand dune.

“Minami!”

“Kai?!” Minami gasped and she looked around until she spotted Kai and Alice making their way over to her from a nearby dune. “Alice!”

“Are you alright?!” the Goth girl asked.

“Fine!” Minami smiled, relieved that they had all arrived in the Digital World successfully and relatively unharmed.

“You girls check out the sky?” Kai gaped. “Totally gnarly. If we were back home on earth I’d assume that we were in for one hell of a storm.”

“This world’s processing core is responsible,” Alice frowned looking up at the orb high in the sky. “I was told that the core is supposed to be green and blue with pink beams of light that shoot out of it. It’s these beams that are supposed to transport Digimon to the various levels of the Digital World.”

“So we’ve got to fix the sun?” Kai frowned.

“According to Takato’s report about his time in the Digital World there is no night and day. It could be day one moment then night the next. Right now I think that the Digital World is suspended in an eternal twilight though.”

“Twilight?” Kai blinked.

“I think she means that the world is stuck in one point in astrological time,” Minami explained, but seeing Kai’s blank look she added, “It’s always sunset.”

“Ah,” Kai nodded. “Could have just said that.”

Alice rolled her eyes making Minami giggle.

“Come on,” the blonde sighed. “Lets get out of this desert. Even if it’s twilight right now, it could get freezing or blazingly hot soon. Nothing can be certain in the Digital World when it’s functioning properly so it’s conditions could be even more volatile in its current state. Lets head towards those rocks.”

Kai and Minami nodded and followed her lead. Minami looked around as they walked and watched as sand leveled out becoming dry cracked ground and dunes became mounds of rock. Alice led them to a particular outcropping and they all collapsed to rest for a bit. Alice also handed out a packet of crackers for each of them before pulling out Yamaki’s communications device.

“Better report to let everyone know we made it,” Alice sighed.

Minami nodded while Kai just stuffed a cracker into his mouth with a shrug.

“Fo whaff da gam plam?” Kai asked with a mouthful of cracker.

Alice frowned at him.

“Sorry,” Kai grinned sheepishly. “What’s the game plan, Alice? Where do we start?”

Minami looked over at Alice too to hear her answer.

“First we need to find the lock on this level,” Alice stated. “According to Yamaki and Mister Wong each level is locked down and we’ll have to release that lock to gain access to the next level of the Digital World.”

“And how many levels are there?” Kai asked.

“Hundreds,” Alice shrugged.

Kai and Minami stared at her in alarm.

“But that’s counting the loads of branched off subdivision levels,” Alice frowned. “There are ten main levels above our current level and it is those levels that are sealed off from each other.”

“Ok…,” Kai nodded. “So how do we find these seals or locks or whatever?”

“Don’t know,” Alice shrugged.

Kai nearly choked on his crackers.

“Ya don’t know?” he gasped.

“I’m sure we’ll figure it out as we go,” Minami said gently.

“Yeah by searching all over for something we don’t even know what it is we’re searching for,” Kai grumbled.

“I’m sure it’ll be easier than what you think,” Minami stated. “It’s bound to be something out of the ordinary for the Digital World. Something that wasn’t here before this whole mess started. Maybe it’ll be a strange occurrence or a change in a structure. I’m sure that if we ask the native Digimon on this level we’ll get some leads.”

“Minami’s right,” Alice smiled. “I’m sure that we’ll be able to find the release for the lockdown.”

“I suppose,” Kai sighed. “But I don’t know about talking to tha natives. I haven’t seen one since we arrived.”

Minami and Alice shared a concerned frown. Neither had they.

“Maybe they’re hiding?” Minami wondered.

“Then lets go look for them,” Alice smirked rising to her feet.

Kai grinned and quickly bounced up to his before holding out a hand for Minami. Minami smiled at him tentatively before taking his hand. He pulled her up and together they took off after Alice. The trio then spent the next few hours exploring the rock outcroppings looking for anything that might be out of the ordinary. Kai was starting to get frustrated after four hours and was making Alice irritable, so Minami decided that they should call it a night. Alice looked like she wanted to argue, but Minami remained firm stating that they were all tired and that the Digital World wasn’t going to be going anywhere.

Reluctantly Alice agreed and they made camp up on a ledge that was high enough to keep them away from any prowlers down below but low enough for them to have enough time to scramble down in case they needed to. Minami took first watch that night. Four hours later an alarm went off and Alice relieved her. Kai took his shift four hours later. When his four hours were complete he woke Alice and Minami and after a small breakfast they began their search anew. Kai even apologized to Alice about his behavior the other day.

Determined, the trio began to move out of the rocky terrain and into a canyon. They traveled for six hours before stopping for lunch. They hadn’t even seen one Digimon so far even though there were signs of them everywhere.

“Ya know, this isn’t how I had expected to spend our first day in the Digital World,” Kai sighed. “I expected to see loads of Digimon everywhere.”

“Well this is the lowest level,” Minami pointed out. “It’s more likely that most of the Digimon live on the higher levels.”

Kai groaned.

“It would make things easier if one would appear,” Alice sighed.

“Then why don’t you just ask?”

The trio jumped in alarm and looked around with wide eyes for the source of the voice. A minute later it was as if a pile of rocks came to life.

“That’s a Gatsumon!” Kai gasped.

The Gatsumon eyed them curiously.

“Haven’t seen one of you before,” it said. “What kind of Digimon are you?”

“That’s cause we’re not Digimon,” Alice stated.

“We’re humans,” Minami added.

“Humans?!” the Gatsumon cried. “Like those creatures from that other world?”

“We are _from_ that other world,” Kai grinned.

“Oh wow! Real live humans!” the Gatsumon cried. “Whatcha doing here? Normally it’s us Digimon trying to get to your world. Not the other way around. Of course nobody’s been able to get through for a long time now. The Sovereign won’t allow it.”

“We’re here to help,” Alice said, crouching down to be level with the shorter creature. “Something’s happening across at least three different dimensions and we need to reverse the lockdown that’s been enforced on your world.”

“Ah. You mean you’re here to help free us from the Great Shut Down,” the Gatsumon sighed. “At least that’s what we’ve started calling it. No one’s been able to come or go on any level of this place for almost a week now, and this twilight has been driving us all crazy. Not that anyone’s trying too hard. What’s going on in that other world with those DigiDestined humans and their partner Digimon is enough to send everyone cowering into their shelters. Especially after that Takuya kid died last night.”

“What?!” gasped Minami, Kai and Alice. “Someone died?”

“Yeah. It wasn’t pretty either,” the Gatsumon said mournfully. “Everyone on this level is arranging to hold a memorial in ten hours time when the other children plan to cremate his body.”

“Cremate?” Kai blinked.

“Burn,” Minami whispered.

“I knew that,” Kai huffed. “I was just wondering why they’d cremate him.”

“Wait,” Alice cut in. “You said that everyone on this level is going to hold a memorial service for Takuya?”

“Of course!” the Gatsumon cried. “The kid died a hero! Even though he was in rough shape and already on death’s doorstep he managed to take another blow to save his friend! And on top of that he killed that witch Aiyokumon! Burned her till she melted in her own lava! The boy deserves nothing but respect!”

“Of course,” Alice easily agreed. “Could we come?”

“Sure,” Gatsumon shrugged. “Everyone else is. Come on! You can help me with the preparations. It’s going to be held on Raiser’s Plateau at the end of the canyon.”

“What are you thinking Alice?” Minami whispered as they followed the rock Digimon who was now talking animatedly to Kai about Takuya’s fight with the witch Zaigou.

“I’m thinking that we just might have found out where we can get our leads for this level’s lock,” Alice smiled.

 

** The Adventure Digital World: Location: Infinity Mountain **

Hiroaki wasn’t sure how he felt. He’d just learned that one of the DigiDestined boys from the world with spirit partners had died the previous night. Tonight, he got word that the other twenty-nine were cremating his body. It made him work with even more determination than before. So far everything that he and Gennai had tried wasn’t working. They hadn’t been able to reach anything outside of the Digital World. Boosting the signal in various ways wasn’t working and changing frequencies wasn’t either.

Hiroaki let out a frustrated growl as he ran his fingers through his hair agitatedly. What could he do? He felt so helpless. It was even worse than that time he’d tried to contact anyone outside of Myotismon’s fog bank four years ago. At least he had gotten static feedback back then. Right now he wasn’t even getting that! Hiroaki racked his brain desperately trying to figure out what he should try next. He clutched at his digivice so tightly that the plastic protested with a squeak. Wait… the digivice!

He searched around frantically for an adapter cord and quickly found one. Thank God Gennai was so organized. He searched for the spot on his digivice and slammed the cable home. Hooking up the other end to a monitor Hiroaki then began to feed the broadcasting signal through the digivice. The mini-screen glowed and squealed to life as it began to vibrate. Finally! Static! Contact was possible!

“Gennai! Try alternating the frequencies again!” Hiroaki ordered.

Gennai got to work immediately, clearing seeing that they were finally getting some results.

“Can anyone here me?” Hiroaki cried into his comm. device.

“…o is…is?” a voice came in.

Gennai immediately compensated on his adjustments to home in on the right frequency while Hiroaki tried to boost the signal further.

“Can anyone read me?! This is Hiroaki Ishida,” Hiroaki stated.

“Hiro?!” a voice cried out loud and clear.

“Hiroaki Ishida?” gasped two others – one male, one female – in unison.

“Ishida?” a fourth voice called back.

“Hey guys,” Hiroaki smiled, knowing full well who they were. Only four others on earth could possibly be receiving this signal through his old digivice model. “Long time no see.”

“See? I can only hear you man,” laughed the first voice.

“Hiro! How are you fairing? Are those really your boys stuck in that other world?” the second male voice asked.

“Yes, Saito, it’s true,” Hiroaki sighed.

“My God!” gasped the third man’s voice.

“Hiro, where are you? We’ve been trying to get in touch with you for days!” the woman wailed.

“You’re not going to believe me,” Hiroaki smiled. “I’m in the Digital World.”

“WHAT?!” cried all four.

“Yeah,” Hiroaki laughed. “Crazy huh? I’m trying to find a way to get my boys back.”

“How’s that going?” the fourth voice asked.

“Not good, Keisuke,” Hiroaki sighed. “So far I’ve only succeeded in reaching you all through the digivices. I’m glad you all kept yours. I wasn’t sure if you’d have them on you.”

“Of course we do!” the lone woman of the group huffed. “It’s a reminder of our adventures together! And please, Hiro. The entire world starts broadcasting those children on that other world, of course we’re going to find and pick up our own digivices and keep them on us just in case.”

“Easy, Yumi, dear,” Saito chuckled.

“So what’s the plan?” Keisuke asked.

“Right now it’s trying to get in touch with any world outside our own,” Hiroaki sighed. “It’s not going well. This is more your department, Kei. You’re the engineer.”

“So what’s it like being back in the Digital World?” the last member of the group – Haru Yoshi – asked.

“…Strange,” Hiroaki laughed. “It’s so different from what it was like back when we were young.”

“Oi! I’m still young!” Yumi retorted.

The men laughed.

“Not to interrupt your conversation, Mr. Ishida,” Gennai cut in, “but now that we’ve established contact maybe we could take it a step further?”

“What do you mean?” Hiroaki asked ignoring the questions of “who was that?” coming from his old friends.

“I mean, that we bring your friends here to this world,” Gennai stated. “We need more help and you and your friends are DigiDestined. With more of you we can see what we can do about reaching another world. If this is possible with just one digivice, imagine what we could do with five!”

“Is he saying what I think he’s saying?” Yumi asked.

“Is he suggesting that we return to the Digital World?” Haru gasped.

“Awesome!” Saito hooted.

“Dear!” Yumi scolded. “What about the children?”

“We send them to your mother’s of course,” Saito snorted.

“I suppose Ami and Saki could spend more time with my sister,” Haru mused.

“I’m still single and childfree so I’m set,” Keisuke chuckled, but there was a clatter in the background meaning the man had probably started grabbing and taking care of a few things.

“And what if we can’t get back?” Yumi fretted.

There was a long pause on the other end now.

“The Digital World needs our help guys,” Saito said slowly. “I know that leaving our lives – our families – behind is going to hurt. Especially since we’re doing it voluntarily this time, but from what I understand there are thirty… twenty-nine children forced to confront another world’s problems. Problems that are stemming from such a great evil that every world out there in existence may be in danger should they fail.”

“I think you’re being a little dramatic, Sai,” Haru muttered.

“No, think about it!” Saito insisted. “That Digital World not only summoned a team of DigiDestined from our world, but from two other worlds as well! What other reason could there be other than that some major evil bad ass is about to endanger life as we know it? Dimensions – realities! – colliding and teams from those different worlds being forced to work together… if that doesn’t scream universal crisis, I don’t know what does.”

“…Damn, Sai. Twenty-four years and you still can give quite the speech,” Keisuke sighed.

“All right, I’m sold,” Haru stated.

“Yumi?” Saito asked.

“…If we don’t come back alive to Aoko and Kaito I’m going to kick your ass from one afterlife to the next,” Yumi growled.

“All right, so what do we have to do, Hiro?” Saito asked.

Hiroaki looked at Gennai.

“It’s going to be difficult, but I’m going boost Hiroaki’s digivice signal to maximum and I’m going to try to open a portal that’ll drop you four right here on Infinity Mountain. What I need you four to do is gather at the summer campsite just outside of Tokyo. It’s the one place in Japan that has the strongest link to our word. After you arrive and when Mr. Ishida gives you the signal I need you all to hold your digivices up to the sky as close together as possible. The more concentrated the signals are when they connect, the better.”

“Got it,” Saito confirmed.

“It’ll take me a few hours to get there,” Keisuke sighed.

“Couple hours for me as well,” Haru stated.

“Be there within the next twenty-four hours,” Gennai instructed. “By then I should have a stable enough connection.”

“Roger that,” Saito said. “We’ll be ready. See you soon guys.”

“Later,” Haru agreed.

After that there was only the sound of everyone making preparations. Hiroaki hoped that this would work. As much as he missed his friends and was looking forward to seeing the old team get back together again he was anxious. The last thing he wanted was for them to be stuck in this world away from their families. But this was their choice. They had twenty-four hours to say goodbye to loved ones, make arrangements to cover their absence, and they even had the option to back out if they changed their minds. It was more than what he and the other parents had before coming. But really, deep down, he knew that they’d come. Even if this was “voluntary” involvement… it was still involuntary, because what other choice did they have? When the Digital World calls out to you for help – no matter in what form or circumstance – what else is there to do but to answer that call?

~*~*~*~*~*~

How will Yutaka and Shinya fair? Will Kai, Alice, and Minami be able to find that lock? And will Hiroaki and Gennai succeed in bringing the other four original DigiDestined back to the Digital World? Find out next time on Digimon: Digital Monsters!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you think? The chapter came along pretty well I think. I hope I didn't rush making Yutaka and Shinya Legendary Warriors, but I felt that they needed to be pushed along a bit since things were moving in the other two worlds. Also how did you guys like the mentions of Takuya's memorials? I just wanted to show just exactly how big on an impact Takuya's death had outside of that world. Think about it. It was televised world wild across the universe! Of course there are going to be organized memories on a global scale.
> 
> I hope you all liked hearing from Hiroaki's old team. They're going to become a huge part of UGotD later on. Hope nothing's been too confusing. if so please let me know and I'll answer any question you have and try to clear it up in a revision of this chapter. Hope you liked this chapter though and that you pretty please...
> 
> Review?


	13. Chapter 12: Takuya’s Requiem and False Starts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously on Digimon: Digital Monsters...
> 
> Frontier World – Shinya wakes up the morning after Takuya died and wanders the castle until he finds himself back in the forest room. He discovers the viewing trees and watches the various memorials being held around the world and universe for his brother Takuya. The spirits of Wood and Steel finally make Shinya and Yutaka Warriors and Ophanimon gives them a mission to go to Flame Terminal to find a way to reconnect with the human world.
> 
> Tamers World – Minami, Kai and Alice find themselves in their Digital World. It’s stuck in an eternal twilight state. They wander the first of ten levels looking for the local native Digimon and the lock that will take them to the next level. They find a Gotsumon and learn about a memorial service the level is holding in honor of Takuya.
> 
> Adventure World – Hiroaki and Gennai try to get their equipment to work and break through to an outside world. After a moment of inspiration, Hiroaki hooks his old digivice into the system and manages to make contact with the other four members of his old team and makes arrangements for them to come to the Digital World.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I DO NOT OWN DIGIMON ADVENTURE 02, TAMERS, FRONTIER OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS!

** Tamer Digital World: Location: Level 1 - Raiser’s Plateau  **

Kai looked around in awe as he and the girls came out of the canyon they’d been traveling through and onto a wide plateau that had an expansive view of the surrounding desert and plains below and in the distance. The plateau was also where there was a huge gathering of Digimon. There were fifteen more Gatsumon, and their guide was kind enough to point out to Kai, Alice, and Minami the other kinds of Digimon.

There was at least a whole colony of Chuchidarumon – Digimon that looked like they were dirt and mud made versions of snow bears. There were also lots of creepy bug Digimon called Chrysalimon and a few Infermon who seemed to be following orders from a pair of Diaboramon. Not the friendliest looking Digimon that Kai had expected to meet, but there were quite a few friendlier looking potato plant Digimon called Jagamon. The most notable Digimon on the plateau though was an old man and an old woman Digimon, Jijimon and Babamon. These two were ordering the other Digimon around like they owned the place.

In the center of the plateau was a huge arrangement of brush and twigs and other flammable material for a bonfire within a foot tall wall of arranged rock. Surrounding the pyre was an assortment of offerings that ranged from wild flowers, spice jars, and an assortment of trinkets, charms and food offerings.

“Wow, they’re nearly finished with the preparations,” their guide gasped.

“No thanks to you,” huffed a Chrysalimon. “Where have you been all this time anyway? And who are they?”

“Human children!” gasped Jijimon and Babamon. “Those are human children!”

Kai found they were surrounded within seconds as all of the Digimon gathered around to look at him, Alice and Minami.

“What are human children doing here?” a Chuchidarumon asked.

“They’re here for the memorial service of course!” an Infermon scowled. “Isn’t that why everyone else is here?”

“No, I think she meant what are they doing here in our world,” a Jagamon butted in.

“Yeesh! Will all of ya shut yer yaps?” Jijimon snapped. “Let the humans speak! Ya three wouldn’t happen to be friends of Kenta and Kazu would you?”

“None of us have actually met Kenta and Kazu, but we are friends of Takato, Rika and Henry,” Alice spoke up.

“Oh! Takato and Henry helped us with that horrible motorcycle!” a Chuchidarumon spoke up.

“Such kind sweet human boys,” another one piped up.

“That’s all nice and everything, but doesn’t explain why there are humans here in the Digital World,” a Diaboramon growled, cutting off the twittering mud bear Digimon.

“We’re here to help,” Minami answered nervously. “We’re trying to lift this lockdown your world is in. If we can unlock all of the Digital World’s levels and reach the Digimon Sovereign we may be able to find a way to get help to Takato and the others stuck in that other dimension.”

The Digimon broke out into hushed whispered chatter upon hearing this. Kai noticed that most of them sounded excited more than anything else.

“Ya mean that if we can unlock these levels and get you to the Sovereign, help can be sent ta Kenta and Kazu and all those other poor stranded DigiDestined kids?” Babamon asked.

“That’s the idea, yeah,” Kai shrugged. “With your help things would sure go along much faster.”

“Hmm,” Jijimon and Babamon nodded.

“With one of those kids already dead, the sooner they receive help the better,” grumbled a Gatsumon different from their guide.

“But you three are just children yourselves!” a Chuchidarumon fussed.

“With no Digimon partners,” a Chrysalimon pointed out.

“Well that may be, but we are goin’ to do our best ta help Takato and tha others!” Kai proclaimed boldly. “We may be useless if we were to go over to that other world where they are now, but here we can at least find a way of getting them help.”

“Will you help us?” Alice asked.

There was a cheer of yes’s from the Chuchidarumon, Gatsumon, Jagamon and a few of the Chrysalimon, and even the unresponsive Digimon – the Infermon and Diaboramon – looked like they were just itching to do something.

“Yes, yes, a fine motivating speech,” Babamon sighed. “But now is not the time.”

“Yes, for we have a fallen hero to memorialize tonight,” Jijimon nodded.

The other Digimon agreed and went back to finishing the memorial. It wasn’t until things had settled down, that Kai noticed the big stationary cloud in the sky that showed images of what was going on in the other dimension. At the moment, the DigiDestined themselves were finishing up a funeral pyre for Takuya. They were all paying their last respects as Takuya’s body was set down onto the piles of wood. Kai, Alice and Minami found it touching to watch Suzie, Ai and Mako find wild flowers and place them next to Takuya. The Zoe girl looked like she was about to break down and cry as she hid her face in Koji’s shoulder. Koji’s face was an expressionless mask, but he didn’t shrug her off.

“She loved him,” Alice whispered.

“What?” Kai frowned, looking over at the blond Goth.

“Zoe was in love with Takuya,” Alice said again. “You can see it in her eyes.”

“Okay…” Kai nodded, not really getting how Alice could know that, but decided to dismiss it as one of those girl things that girls just seemed to know. Honestly, all he saw was a girl morning the loss of a friend and he wasn’t going to bother looking for something deeper. Things were already depressing enough as they were.

As the cloud broadcasted the images of the DigiDestined gathered around Takuya’s funeral pyre, all of the Digimon on the plateau gathered around their own and watched in respectful silence as the DigiDestined said their final farewells to Takuya Kanbara, DigiDestined Warrior of Fire.

Kai exchanged sad looks with Alice and Minami. How many more of the twenty-nine remaining DigiDestined would make it through the next few days? Would one of their own Tamer friends be the next to fall? Kai knew that it was more important than ever to find and unlock the levels of their Digital World, but Babamon and Jijimon were right. Right now in this moment it was not the time. Just looking around at all the Digimon present, Kai knew that the Digimon would be more than willing to help them, but right now Takuya Kanbara deserved their respect and well wishes as he passed on to whatever life there was after death for humans.

Kai toyed with the thought of Takuya being reborn as a Digimon since he’d died in a Digital World. He was sure that if it could happen, that the guy would come back as a totally kick ass Digimon. The guy had been a hero and a strong fighter as a human, so why wouldn’t he be if he were reborn as a Digimon?

Putting aside those fanciful thoughts, Kai returned his attention to the sky and watch Guilmon and Tai’s Agumon light Takuya’s pyre. An Infermon lit the plateau pyre soon after and then the air was filled with mournful singing – if it could be called that. The Chuchidarumon and the Jagamon hummed and ahh-ed a lament of some sort, the Gatsumon cried up to the sky in their gravelly tones, the Chrysalimon squeed high-pitched notes, and the Infermon and Diaboramon roared. Babamon and Jijimon were chanting prayers of some sort, shaking broom and clawed staff at the pyre with one hand and holding their other hands up high into the sky, chanting louder and louder until they were crying out with the other Digimon.

Kai then took a deep breath and cried out with all the rest, surprising Alice and making Minami jump. Then, after a moment’s hesitation, Minami took up a soft cry of her own that grew louder with her confidence. She reached out to her side with one hand and Kai took it, holding it tightly as their voices mingled with all of the Digimon’s. Kai watched Alice out of the corner of his eye as he and Minami continued to cry out with all the Digimon. Finally Alice took a deep breath of her own and let out a strong and fiercely sung note, singing a song he didn’t understand. It may have been in Latin.

“ _Bealocwealm hafad freone frecan forth onsended giedd sculon singan gleomenn sorgiende on Meduselde thaet he ma no waere his dryhtne dyrest and maga deorost, Bealo…_ ” (Lament for Theodred)

It was a beautiful song, Kai had to admit, almost hauntingly so as he reached out with his free hand and held it out for her. He felt her strong and reassuring grip take it as she came to stand beside him, still singing.

 

** The Frontier Digital World: Location: The Celestial Digimon’s Castle **

“NO! I won’t let you go!” Yuriko Kanbara sobbed as she hugged Shinya to her. “Please, Shinya, just forget this foolishness!”

“Yutaka, I can’t believe after all that has happened that you are even suggesting getting involved!” Sasuke Himi frowned disapprovingly at his son while his wife sobbed, hugging Yutaka.

“It is _because_ of all that has happened that Shinya and I need to do this,” Yutaka inserted firmly, trying to reign in his temper.

Things were not going well. He and Shinya had only just announced their intent to leave for Flame Terminal to try and find a way to help Tommy and the others. Needless to say that none of the parents had taken the news well, but at least the Orimotos, Shibayamas, Minamotos and Miss Kimura were all staying back and out of the heated discussion now taking place.

“I forbid it!” Sasuke hissed, getting in his son’s face. “It’s already bad enough that Tommy is gone. I refuse to loose another son!”

“You speak as if he were already dead!” Yutaka growled. “Have you already given up hope for their return?!”

“No,” Sasuke sighed, hanging his head a little, “but please, son, understand that I can’t loose you too.”

“Yes, please!” Ami Himi sobbed. “Listen to your father and stay!”

“I’m sorry Mom, but I can’t do that,” Yutaka sighed, unwinding her arms from around him, but held her hands between his own. “You all have to understand that Shinya and I need to do this. If we can find a way to open the connection between this world and home, or one to the other worlds, we can get help to Tommy and the others. Lady Ophanimon-!”

“I knew that that creature was up to no good,” Sasuke exploded. “She put you two up to this didn’t she?!”

“No!” Shinya shook his head. “She didn’t do anything! She only asked-!”

“That you risk your own lives for some useless quest?” Hiroki Kanbara cut in grimly.

“It isn’t a useless quest!” Yutaka protested. “It needs to be done!”

“Then why doesn’t she send other Digimon to do it?!” sobbed Yuriko. “Why does it have to be you two?”

“Why can’t you all understand?!” Yutaka shouted. “Shinya and I are the only ones that can help now! We were both chosen to be Digimon Warriors like Tommy and the others!”

“Stop it!” Sasuke shouted back. “You’re upsetting your mother!”

“She’s been upset since this whole thing started!” Yutaka snapped, holding his sobbing mother close again. “We’ve all been upset!”

“Well, you’re not making her feel any better about the situation with all this talk of taking off!”

“You’re not helping matters either!” Yutaka bellowed.

“Yutaka!” Shinya gasped. “Calm down!”

Yutaka blinked and then looked around the room, noticing that the metal chairs, tables, silverware and any other loose metal objects were rattling. After a few calming breathes everything settled down again.

“What in the world?” Ami and Yuriko gasped looking around as the metal objects stopped vibrating.

“Whoa,” Shinya breathed before grinning widely at the older boy. “Careful, Yutaka. We don’t need you going all Magneto on us.”

“Magneto?” Yutaka frowned.

“A bad guy mutant from X-Men that can control metal!” Shinya informed him. “I suppose that since you’re the new Warrior of Steel you’ll have to watch your temper.”

“At least while around anything metal,” Yutaka grumbled before letting out a sigh, running a hand through his hair.

“Your powers are manifesting more quickly than Lady Ophanimon has anticipated,” Seraphimon mused as he appeared in the doorway of the room. “Perhaps it is because you are older than most who are chosen, Yutaka Himi.”

Yutaka nodded, musing over this sudden development.

“Is it time for us to go?” Shinya asked.

“Yes,” Seraphimon nodded.

“NO!” Ami and Yuriko cried, wrapping their remaining sons up in their arms once again.

“Haven’t you already taken enough children from us?!” Sasuke demanded. “Don’t make them do any more of your bidding!”

“We are not making them do anything,” Seraphimon stated calmly.

“Dad, we volunteered for this,” Yutaka stepped forward out of his mom’s arms.

“He’s right,” Shinya nodded, wiggling out of his own mother’s embrace. “We decided on our own to get involved. It was our choice. We want to do this!”

“But why?” Yuriko sobbed.

“For Takuya, Mommy,” Shinya said softly. “So that no one else has to suffer and die like he did.”

“To find Tommy,” Yutaka stated, staring into his father’s eyes. “I won’t let what happened to Takuya happen to him if I can help it.”

“Yutaka and Shinya have found and bonded with the Warrior Spirits of Steel and Wood,” Seraphimon added. “It is their destiny to find the new DigiDestined Warriors of Water and Earth and to help the other children in that other world. It is a destiny that they have accepted and embraced.”

“Please,” Shinya pleaded. “Mom… Dad… Let me go.”

“Shinya,” Hiroki sighed, staring sadly down at their youngest and remaining son.

“I promise that I’ll look after him, Mr. and Mrs. Kanbara,” Yutaka told them earnestly.

“But who will look after you?” Ami cried.

“Oh, Mom,” Yutaka sighed, hugging her again. “I’ll be fine. I’m 19 and practically an adult myself!”

“…I know, son,” she sniffed. “I know… just… promise me you will be careful.”

“I will, Mom,” Yutaka nodded, fighting against tears of his own. “I promise.”

“Good,” she nodded, pulling back to stand next to Sasuke. “Because if you don’t, regardless, whether you’re an adult of not young man, I will ground you for a month!”

Yutaka chuckled, nodding his head.

Shinya hugged and kissed his mom and dad one more time before coming to stand next to Yutaka before Seraphimon.

“Are you two ready?” the angel lord Digimon asked.

The two boys nodded.

“Then lets get cracking!” a new voice exclaimed enthusiastically.

From behind Seraphimon Nefertimon and two small Digimon stepped out.

“Hello young men! My name is Bokomon and this is Neemon,” a small white bear looking Digimon wearing a pink band around his middle said, gesturing to a yellow rabbit Digimon wearing red pants. “The two of us will be your guides to Flame Terminal. We traveled with your brothers and the other four Warrior DigiDestined children during their adventures here. I hope we can become good friends.”

“Nice ta meetcha!” the rabbit said bowing.

“Hello,” Shinya smiled.

“Bokomon and Neemon will help you get to Flame Terminal. They grew up there, so they know the place rather well. They’ll make sure that you two don’t go astray and help you find what you need,” Seraphimon announced.

“It is a horror,” Neemon smiled

“It’s _honor,_ you nincompoop!” Bokomon shouted, snapping Neemon’s pant’s band.

“Ouch!”

Shinya laughed and Yutaka shook his head. These two were going to be their guides to Flame Terminal?

 

** The Adventure Digital World: Location: Infinity Mountain **

Through the rest of the day and well into the next, Gennai and Hiroaki worked tirelessly on the weak connection that linked the Digital World to the human world. It was slow going, but they finally succeeded in widening the gap, little by little. In the mean time, they listened to a radio Gennai had been working on earlier. Like with all the TV’s, the radio only broadcasted what was happening in that other world. Right now they were tuned to Matt’s station and listened to the stories that the Warrior DigiDestined children had to tell about Takuya Kanbara. Hiroaki just couldn’t believe that the boy had died. It had driven home to him how much danger his sons and the other children were in. It hadn’t even been a week yet, and already one child was dead. From the way his friends spoke about him, the boy sounded a lot like Tai Kamiya.

But Hiroaki wasn’t going to let that distract him. He needed to find a way to reach those children, and the first step towards that, was to make a connection between this Digital World and home. He could only hope that his and Gennai’s efforts were enough to get his old friends here. Finally, nearly 24 hours after he’d managed to contact them, Hiroaki was back on his digivice, communicating with his friends.

“ _We’re all ready when you are, Hiro_ ,” Saito reported.

“ _We’re at the camp all ready to go!_ ” Yumi said cheerfully.

“ _More than ready,_ ” Keisuke agreed.

“ _Beam us up, Scotty!_ ” Haru joked.

“ _Oh good lord, Haru! Don’t start quoting Star Trek again_!” Keisuke moaned.

“ _Just like old times_ ,” Yumi giggled.

“ _At least he didn’t try to do the accent this time,_ ” Saito sighed.

Hiroaki shook his head as he and Gennai double and triple checked their links and monitors to make sure that everything was running smoothly.

“All right, everyone,” Gennai spoke into the mic he had connected to the equipment so that the others could hear him without him needing to be near Hiroaki’s digivice. “I’m going to open the portal between the human world and the Digital World. You should see a green fiery light in the sky. When you see it, I want everyone to hold up their digivices to the light. Group them as close together as you can. Hopefully you’ll be with us shortly. Hold on to each other, because it’s going to be a bumpy ride.”

The four waiting adults gave affirmatives and Hiroaki flipped a switch upon receiving Gennai’s signal.

“Here we go,” Gennai sighed. “Lets hope this works.”

“Digital Portal open,” Hiroaki reported as the light on his computer went from red to green. “Receiving four new digivice signals…”

There was a roar of thunder overhead and when he looked up, Hiroaki spotted a grouping of four lights come hurtling towards the mountaintop. There was a blinding flash of light, and a gust of wind and dirt, but when it all settled, there were four new figures standing before him. Hiroaki grinned and raced forward to greet his old friends.

“Hiro!” Yumi cried, meeting him halfway with a crushing hug. The small petite redhead was a lot stronger than she looked. Her green eyes flashed in the afternoon sunlight while long crimson locks escaped from the bun she’d pulled her hair up into at the nape of her neck. Behind her was her husband Saito grinning from ear to ear, warm brown eyes eyeing his wife and old friend fondly. His hair was cut short and spiky instead of in that wild mullet that Hiroaki remembered his old friend and leader having. The goggles remained though, hanging around Saito’s neck.

“Still wearing those old things?” Hiroaki laughed.

“Oh shut up,” Saito laughed. “These are my lucky goggles!”

“Lucky my ass,” grumbled Keisuke as he brushed dirt out of black hair that was starting to grey with age. It wasn’t short like Saito’s hair, but it wasn’t long enough to reach past his ears. The grey eyes were bright and excited though, betraying the man’s happiness at being back in the Digital World.

And last was Haru, a rather short man with mousy brown hair, but he had bright blue eyes and a round kind face. He honestly looked no different from when Hiroaki had last seen the man all those years ago accept for a few new silver hairs.

“Well aren’t you four a sight for sore eyes.”

“Gabumon!” they all cried as Hiroaki’s partner came into view smiling happily.

“Oh man! We’re really back aren’t we?” Haru exclaimed happily.

“It looks so different,” Yumi gaped in awe as she looked all around.

“It has changed quite a bit since we were here last,” Hiroaki agreed.

“Alright, we can sight see later,” Keisuke sighed. “I thought we were here to help Hiro get his sons and the rest of those kids back?”

“Indeed,” Gennai agreed, stepping up to meet the new comers.

“Oh. Hello,” Saito grinned, coming forward to shake the digital man’s hand. “I’m Saito Yoshimura.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet the original team of DigiDestined,” Gennai smiled back, shaking the man’s hand. “I am Gennai.”

“Hello Gennai,” Saito nodded.

“I’m Haru Yoshi,” Haru bowed.

“Keisuke Hiroko,” Keisuke nodded, already examining the computers that Gennai and Hiroaki had used to bring him and the other three to the Digital World.

“And I’m Saito’s wife, Yumi Yoshimura, formerly Yumi Wakai,” Yumi smiled radiantly as she shook Gennai’s hand.

“Again, it is a pleasure to meet all of you, but may I please see your digivices?” Gennai asked.

“Sure!” Yumi smiled, handing over her old digivice. Saito and Haru did the same. Hiroaki took Keisuke’s as the man tossed it in his direction. The man’s attention was completely absorbed with the computers.

“You’ll have to forgive Keisuke,” Saito laughed. “He’s an engineer and has a thing for computers.”

“Not unlike Izzi,” Hiroaki added for Gennai’s benefit.

“That kid’s smart,” Keisuke commented absently. “I’d love to pick his brain sometime about his thoughts on the Digital World. Because he has so much more experience with the current Digital World I wonder how different his theories are from my own.”

“And he wonders why he’s still single after all these years,” Yumi giggled. “Computer nerd that he is.”

“Least I don’t quote Star Trek,” Keisuke grumbled.

“Hey!” Haru pouted.

“Hey yourself,” Keisuke chuckled. “You are such a dorky fan that you learned Klingon!”

“Seriously?” Hiroaki laughed. “You learned Klingon?”

Haru glared but didn’t deny it.

“Oh leave him alone,” Saito sighed. “His wife speaks it too.”

Keisuke and Hiroaki stared at Haru with wide eyes.

“Where’d you meet a woman who speaks Klingon?” they demanded.

“At a convention of course,” Haru smiled brightly.

“Oh God…” Keisuke grumbled.

Hiroaki simply shook his head in amazement.

“His kids can speak Klingon too,” Yumi smiled.

“Good God man! Have you no shame?!” Keisuke cried, looking away from the technology before him. “You’re a school teacher for crying out loud! Please tell me you don’t teach your students this too!”

“Of course not!” Haru scowled.

“I think I have just lost all respect for you my old friend,” Keisuke shuddered.

“All right, enough,” Saito snapped. “Get over it Keisuke. We are all entitled to our own hobbies at home. And you have no right to talk since you spend all of your down time playing the latest installments of World of Warcraft anyway.”

Keisuke grumbled for a moment as he turned back to the computers he’d been looking at a moment ago.

“So what now, Gennai?” Hiroaki asked.

“Well,” Gennai sighed, putting down Yumi’s digivice and picking up Saito’s, “now we try reaching out to other worlds. Or at least that’s what I will do. The four of you need to go out and search for your old partners. Hiroaki, you and Gabumon will help them. I can’t do anything with these digivices until they are fully reactivated and that will only happen when you find the other four original partner Digimon. I’d start your search in Primary Village.”

“But how will we find our way?” Hiroaki asked. “None of us knows where anything is in this world.”

“The other Digimon and I will accompany you down the mountain as soon as I finish up here. There is nothing else that we can do with this equipment, until those digivices are reactivated. Thankfully, we can leave it all here after we put up housing that will protect it from weather and defensive measures that will keep the occasional wild Digimon out. Then we can remote access all of this equipment back at base. If you and Mr. Hiroko will give me a hand, we can get all of that done within the hour.”

Hiroaki nodded and began to help Keisuke take care of the computer equipment under Gennai’s direction. Saito, Yumi and Haru all shrugged before settling down on the ground to talk with Gabumon while the computer techs did their thing.

 

** Another Digital World: Location: Unknown **

It was late in the evening and flowers with TV centers played the various DigiDestined children’s channels, broadcasting them across the plains where all sorts of Digimon were gathered to watch them remember the fallen hero Takuya Kanbara.

“It’s so sad,” said a bellflower Digimon. “That boy was so brave.”

“He was,” agreed a blue dog Digimon wearing red boxing gloves and a matching red headband. “He died for his friends.”

“There’s got to be something we can do,” a brown bird Digimon wearing ninja gear murmured.

“Something that we can do to help,” a pink bird Digimon agreed.

A turtle Digimon wearing a helmet and headphones, and two-armored rookie level Digimon – one black, one white – nodded in silent agreement.

“There has to be,” a large Agumon with red arm braces growled. “Right, Aniki? …Aniki?”

The Agumon turned around but found no one standing behind him.

“Aniki?!” he cried.

“Masaru?” the flower and dog Digimon called out.

“Over there!” pointed the pink and brown birds.

A lone human figure stood on top of an outcropping of rocks gazing up at the stars and moon in the digital sky.

“Aniki!” Agumon cried as he raced forward, the other seven Digimon racing after him. He slowed his advance though as he approached the figure. It was a human man. He had long red hair that came down to the middle of his back even when tied back in a long ponytail. He was dressed in a well-worn sleeveless black shirt beneath a dusty red and cream colored sleeveless jacket vest, and dusty olive green cargo pants. He also wore black sweatbands on his wrists, weathered red and black tennis shoes, and a silver charm necklace that looked like a military issued dog tag.

“…Aniki?” Agumon said again when the man didn’t acknowledge his presence.

“Takuya Kanbara had a real man’s spirit,” the man sighed, looking away from the sky and turning clear sad green eyes on the Digimon. “He fought bravely and never gave up until it was all over. His spirit was strong enough to break free of Aiyokumon’s control and gave him the strength he needed to save his friends and destroy her. It would have been an honor to meet such a fighter. It is also a crime that such a man’s soul was beaten down and suffocated until it was snuffed out.”

The man growled angrily, returning his gaze to the sky.

“Aniki…” Agumon breathed.

“What do you plan to do now, Daimon Masaru?” the dog Digimon asked.

“…I’m going to seek out the Royal Knights, Gaomon,” Masaru answered. “It’s time to return to the human world and bring back the DATS team.”

“Are you sure that the two worlds are ready for that?” the flower Digimon asked.

“I don’t know, Lalamon,” Masaru admitted, “But they’ll have to be. It’s only a matter of time before whatever is going on in that other world affects our own. When our two worlds almost collided, it nearly destroyed everything. Can you imagine what type of destruction awaits us if we let that other world into the mix?”

“I see your point,” Lalamon sighed.

“You have grown up a lot these last five years, Masaru,” Gaomon smiled.

“Aniki has always been grown up,” Agumon nodded proudly while Gaomon and Lalamon leveled deadpan stares at him.

“Nah,” Masaru grinned. “That’s not it at all, Gaomon. I’m just itching for a fight. The peace we’ve achieved here in the Digital World is nice and all, but I have been craving a challenge. Going to help those other kids in that other world will not only give me that challenge, but it will also keep this world safe. It kills two birds with one stone! …Sorry Falcomon. Piyomon. No pun intended.”

“Now that sounds more like the Masaru we know,” the brown ninja bird Digimon – Falcomon – laughed.

The pink bird – Piyomon laughed as well.

“Well you guys,” Masaru grinned. “Why don’t we pay the Royal Knights a visit?”

“I’m with ya, Aniki! All the way!” Agumon cheered.

“Then lets go,” Masaru smirked before his expression became grim. “We might not have a lot of time if we want to help those other kids.”

The eight Digimon nodded grimly as they followed Masaru across the plains.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Will Kai, Alice, and Minami be able to fulfill their mission quicker now that they have some help from the local Digimon? Will Bokomon and Neemon really be able to help Shinya and Yutaka get to Flame Terminal? How long will it take Hiroaki and his friends to track down the other original partner Digimon? And how does Daimon Masaru plan to help the DigiDestined in that other world? I guess you'll all have to find out next time on Digimon: Digital Monsters!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the new chapter! Did ya guys like it? A lot of readers had been asking me if and when we'd get to see Bokomon and Neemon. Well here they are! Next PW chapter will start Yutaka and Shinya's trip to Flame Terminal.
> 
> Also, next chapter, Kai, Alice and Minami will begin their search for the lock on that first level. Who was happy to see Jijimon and Babamon again? I couldn't resist adding them. Extra special kudos and cyber cookies to the few of you who recognized Alice's song. I know that only die hard Lord of the Rings fans would know that this song is only in the extended edition of Lord of the Rings: the Two Towers movie. It's called "Lament for Theodred" sung by Eowen during the funeral scene and you can watch it on youtube just by typing in the song name. I recommend the first result. It gave me the lyrics. :) Also, I know that the song is not Latin. Kai merely thinks that it's Latin. :P The reason i put this song in the chapter is because my familiy and I had been having a Lord of the Rings Extended Edition Blu-Ray marathon while I was writing this. Anyway, I heard the song and thought that it sounded nice and made Alice sing it. It was either that or "The Steward of Gondor" song that Merry sings in Return of the King, but that song sounded too depressing since it ends with the lines "all shall fade."
> 
> As for the Adventure part of the chapter, I'm not sure how it happened, but Haru ended up a Star Trek nerd. It just happened and I rolled with it. I know little to nothing about Star Trek too, so this was a shock to even me. I guess each part was demanding it's own pop culture reference. Tamers had Lord of the Rings, I couldn't resist making a Magneto X-Men jab at Yutaka in the Frontier part, so in hind sight I'm not all surprised that Adventure wanted Star Trek. :P For those of you who don't get and/or like the pop culture references... I am sorry. For those of you who loved them? Glad that I could amuse you.
> 
> OK, who was excited to see me show Digimon Savers/Data Squad? As you can see, it is inevitable that the DATS team is going to get involved in events and make their way into the UGotD storyline. There won't always be a Saver/Data Squad part in PW chapters just yet, as I try to figure out how I'm going to integrate the 5th season into this monster of a fan fic series. As you can see, I'm using the Japanese names and characterization for this season. Mostly this is because the Japanese Savers version is the one I watched all the way through, but also because from responses I have gotten on Facebook, it seemed like most of you preferred the Japanese version of season five anyway.


	14. Chapter 13: Getting Somewhere

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously on Digimon: Digital Monsters...
> 
> Tamers World – Kai, Minami and Alice participate in the memorial service for Takuya with the promise that the local Digimon will help them find the level’s lock so that help can be sent to Takato and the others.
> 
> Frontier World – Yutaka and Shinya try to convince their parents to let them go before they leave for Flame Terminal. Yutaka’s temper gets the better of him for a bit while arguing with his father and the metal in the room reacts to him. Lord Seraphimon informs him that his powers are manifesting fast because he is older than most chosen children. Nefertimon brings Bokomon and Neemon and it is announced that they will be Shinya and Yutaka’s guides in the Digital World to Flame Terminal.
> 
> Adventure World – Hiroaki and Gennai manage to bring the other original DigiDestined to the Digital World and Hiroaki is reunited with his old team. Gennai informs them that he can’t use the other four’s digivices until they are reactivated so the team has to set out and find their old partners.
> 
> Savers World – Masaru and his Digimon companions witness watch Takuya’s funeral pyre and resolve to get the old DATS team back together and go seek out the Royal Knights.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I DO NOT OWN DIGIMON ADVENTURE, 02, TAMERS, FRONTIER OR ANY OF IT'S CHARACTERS!

** Frontier Digital World: Location: Forest Terminal **

After being escorted from the castle by Nefertimon, Shinya looked around in awe as he and Yutaka made their way through the Forest Terminal to the very platform that they’d arrived on when they came to the Digital World. At the time they hadn’t noticed that they weren’t on Earth any more and therefore hadn’t really looked around much. Everyone had been too concerned for their brothers and the other missing children to pay attention to their surroundings, but Shinya did remember that the station had been empty. Now the terminal was busy with a wide verity of Digimon bustling about. The two humans tried their best to pay attention to Bokomon who was pointing out specific Digimon and naming them while they waited for a Trailmon – who were apparently train Digimon like the one that had brought them to the Digital World in the first place.

Yutaka seemed to be soaking in the information that was being given to them, but Shinya found himself snickering at their other Digimon companion. Neemon’s random comments more often than not resulted in Bokomon either hitting him over the head with a paw or his book, or Neemon getting the waistband of his red pants snapped. Shinya had begun to tune Bokomon’s lecture out by then though and stared at the many Digimon that walked by. Sometimes they stared back at him, so he’d wave, while others ignored his and Yutaka’s presence altogether like it was normal for humans to be waiting for a Trailmon in the Digital World.

Finally after what felt like forever, there was a loud “Woo! WOOOOO!” and a Trailmon that looked like a brown caterpillar with massive sharp teeth pulled into the station. According to Bokomon, the Trailmon’s name was Worm and that Worm was the Trailmon that had not only brought Shinya, Yutaka, and all the families to the Digital World, but that he’d also been the Trailmon that had first brought Takuya, Zoe, JP and Tommy to the Digital World at Flame Terminal at the beginning of their first adventure.

“Come on, Shinya,” Yutaka said as he took hold of his hand and led him onto the train car after Bokomon and Neemon. The four of them situated themselves on two booth benches that were facing each other by a window. Yutaka allowed Shinya to have the window seat so that he could see the view better. Shinya knew, however, that in taking the aisle seat Yutaka had put himself in a position that enabled him to keep an eye out for trouble and keep Shinya safe. The gesture reminded him of Takuya who had done the same thing many times before.

“How long until we get to Flame Terminal?” Shinya asked while they waited for Worm to start moving.

“It’ll take all day I’m afraid, even by Trailmon,” Bokomon sighed. “In fact, I think we have to stay the night in Breezy Village before reaching our destination. The different Terminals are quite far from each other.”

“It took us weeks to get here from Flame Terminal when we walked,” Neemon piped in.

“That’s because we kept running into trouble and Grumblemon!” Bokomon huffed. “Though I suppose in hindsight, if we hadn’t walked, Zoe, JP, and Tommy wouldn’t have found their Spirit Partners, and Koji and Takuya wouldn’t have found their Beast Spirits.”

Bokomon began blabbering on again about adventures that had already been talked about before, so Shinya tuned him out and looked around to see what kind of Digimon were in their car. On the bench by the door there were a couple of Digimon Shinya recognized as Agumon. The two yellow dino-Digimon were currently telling jokes or some other funny things to each other. Sitting a couple booth sets behind Bokomon and Neemon’s bench were a group of four rock Digimon that all looked alike, one was a tan-brown color while the other three were a dark grey. Shinya remembered that Bokomon had pointed them out earlier. The dark grey ones were Gotsumon and the light brown one was a Meteormon. Two similar looking white ones joined them a couple minutes later. When he asked about them, Bokomon turned around in his seat to get a look at them and said that the white ones were Icemon. Apparently Gotsumon only changed in color and abilities when they Digivolved. When Shinya twisted around in his seat to see what Digimon were behind him, he spotted two flower-fairy Digimon. Bokomon identified the pink one as Lillymon and the red one as Rosemon, Lillymon’s Mega level DigiVolution. The last passengers to board their train car before Worm finally left the station were a trio of Mushroomon who took a seat in the booth of benches right behind Shinya and Yutaka.

Shinya slumped back in his seat when they started moving.

“Bored already, squirt?” Yutaka snickered.

“No,” Shinya shook his head. “Just… anxious I guess.”

“Is that why you were checking out the other Digimon in the car?” Yutaka asked, looking amused. “We’ve only just started and you’re already looking for bad guys. In that case, keep an eye out for the flower girls. They may look cute but they could be deadly. After all, there is that saying that females are often deadlier than the male.”

Shinya snorted.

“I’d suspect the Mushroomon brothers,” Neemon piped up. “They attacked us that time we were in Breezy Village.”

“Zoe had to Spirit Evolve in order to defeat them and scanned their fractal code to return them to being more pleasant fellows, but that is beside the point,” Bokomon added. “While I doubt that they are evil, they can be horrible pranksters. If you’re going to find any potential enemies in this car it’ll be one of them.”

“Hey! We can hear ya you know!” cried one of the Mushroomon. He had turned around in his seat to glare over Shinya’s head at Bokomon and Neemon.

“Hey, I remember ya!” another one said as he scrambled out of his seat and came to stand beside Bokomon. “You were in Breezy Village with the girl who became Kazemon, the Legendary Warrior of Wind!”

“That’s us!” Neemon agreed, nodding his head.

“What are you two jokers up to now?” the third Mushroomon asked from over Yutaka’s shoulder.

“We’re on our way to Flame Terminal,” Neemon answered.

“Why’s that?” the first Mushroomon asked.

“It’s our home,” Bokomon said, gesturing to himself and Neemon. “Which is why we were assigned by Lady Ophanimon and Lord Seraphimon to bring the new Warriors of Steel and Wood there.”

“You telling me that these two humans are new Legendary Warriors?!” gasped the third Mushroomon loudly, staring at Yutaka and Shinya.

Now the other Digimon in the car were staring too.

“Did he say Legendary Warriors?!” squealed the Lillymon as she and her Rosemon friend skipped over to gawk at Shinya and Yutaka. “You two are new Legendary Warriors?!”

“Which ones are you?” the Meteormon asked.

“What are your names?” an Agumon asked.

“Ah…” Yutaka and Shinya blinked, not sure how to take suddenly being mobbed by the other occupants of the train car.

“I… I’m Shinya,” Shinya finally spoke up. “I’m the new Warrior of Wood.”

“And I’m Yutaka,” the older boy stated. “New Legendary Warrior of Steel.”

“Steel and Wood huh,” a Gotsumon grumbled. “A new Arbormon isn’t so bad I guess, but a new Mercurymon?”

“Now, now,” tisked Rosemon. “I’m sure that the humans are a lot nicer than the previous versions of the Legendary Warriors.”

“Who?” Shinya and Yutaka frowned.

“The old corrupted Legendary Warriors of Wood and Steel,” Bokomon explained before he began regaling the two humans about the horrible deeds concerning the tainted versions of their Spirit Partners.

After that though, the next few hours of the ride was spent explaining their trip to Flame Terminal and answering questions about being the new Legendary Warriors. This eventually led to the revelation that Yutaka and Shinya were Tommy and Takuya’s brothers. Shinya got a lot of sympathy from Rosemon and Lillymon concerning Takuya, but bringing up his brother’s death had put him in a slight state of depression. He didn’t want their sympathy and just wished that the flower Digimon would leave him along and pester Yutaka about Tommy or something.

The whole ordeal helped pass the time however, so when they pulled into some metal city station where the Gotsumon, Icemon, and the Meteormon got off, Shinya felt a bit better. They still had another four hours before Worm pulled into Breezy Village Station for the night though so at least Shinya hadn’t been bored with a lack of conversation. The Digimon still on the train had caught him and Yutaka up to speed on what had gone on in the castle while they were preparing that morning before setting out for Flame Terminal. Apparently in the other Digital World the DigiDestined had burned Takuya’s body in a funeral pyre instead of burying him. Shinya was touched to hear about the services that the Digimon in the castle and surrounding villages had apparently performed that morning as well. The one that Lillymon and Rosemon described sounded like it had been beautiful if he was to believe the shower of flowers and an ever-burning torch that had been placed in a shrine somewhere in the castle. Apparently the flower Digimon were on their way to Flame Terminal to help with a special memorial ceremony that would be taking place in a few days. They couldn’t give him too many details about it though since they didn’t know much themselves, but it sounded like a memorial and shrine to the Fire Warrior was going to be constructed there.

Sometime around sunset Worm pulled into Breezy Village Station and told them that this was as far as he was going until morning. Lillymon and Rosemon insisted on treating Yutaka and Shinya to dinner and paid for their lodging that night. The Mushroomon brothers were also very happy to help set them up in what was apparently the best room in the village’s hotel. It was there that the two new DigiDestined were introduced to the Mushroomon’s business partners, the Floramon. Whether it was because they were now Warrior DigiDestined or because Shinya was Takuya’s little brother, Shinya and Yutaka (as well as Neemon and Bokomon) were treated well and waited on hand and foot in Breezy Village. If this was how they were being treated in what was considered a small Digimon village, Shinya wondered what their reception was going to be like in Flame Terminal. As they were settling down for the night, Shinya turned on a TV that had recently been installed in their room, and found that all the DigiDestined in the other world were sitting back and reminiscing about all the happy and fun times that they’d had with Takuya. It was as Koji, Zoe, and Tommy were talking about a trip that they’d all taken to Disney Sea that he began to fall asleep curled into Yutaka’s side, the older boy wrapping a comforting arm around him as he continued to watch the TV.

 

** The Adventure Digital World: Location: Infinity Mountain **

Finally after getting the equipment shielded from the elements and confirmation from Gennai’s base that it was transmitting properly, the entire team began their trek back down the mountain. Hiroaki was happy to catch up with his old friends and learn about everything he’d missed. Saito and Yumi were all too happy to show him the pictures they had of their children, gushing about how cute they were. Haru was arguing with Keisuke about Star Trek again, much to everyone else’s amusement when Haru began to cuss out the computer tech in Klingon because Japanese words had apparently failed him. Keisuke then turned to Gennai and began asking questions about this new Digital World. Now that conversation was more interesting to listen in on and Hiroaki learned some more about Matt and TK’s adventures.

It was getting late again though so they had to stop halfway down the mountain and make camp. Thankfully no Digimon attacked them this time, setting a more relaxing atmosphere as Digimon and humans alike asked questions and shared adventures. It was amusing to watch Saito narrate some of their more action packed adventures. The man had hardly changed at all from the young excitable teenager that he’d been when they’d first met. Yumi and Haru hadn’t changed much either, all three of them still holding on to their youthful energies and personalities. Keisuke had changed a lot from how Hiroaki remembered him though. Keisuke was more… practical.

Keisuke was the oldest member of the original DigiDestined team. He’d had this nervous and self-doubting personality, never confident in his actions or decisions, and had a tendency to fall back on his techno-babble whenever he was pressured. He was also a bit of a hysteric in the beginning. Now the man was composed and self-assured. He held his own in a conversation now instead of backing down like he had in the past whenever someone talked over him. He was also easily the smartest man in the group, understanding even more than Hiroaki did at times when talking to Gennai.

Hiroaki knew that he was also different from when he’d been a teenager. He’d been a lot like Saito, so the two had gotten along easily, but where Saito was brash, more of a doer than a planer, and would jump right into the action winging it, Hiroaki had been more knowledgeable, contemplative, and liked to go into things with at least an outline of a plan. Now that he thought about it, back in the day he and Saito had been a lot like how Tai and Matt were now. They had always had each other’s backs. Saito had always been willing to hear out his plans (most of the time), and they’d always double-checked a situation with each other before going out guns blazing.

Yumi had been their conscious of sorts. She was always thinking about safety to the point it had almost been annoying, but her practicality had saved their butts more times than any of the boys would ever have admitted back then. Haru was the laid back member of the group, just going with the flow. As the youngest team member he’d just flown under the radar a lot in the beginning, but he’d been pretty good at settling arguments and disputes. Of course his childish behavior and apparent lack of concern had gotten him in plenty of arguments with Keisuke, but those he’d just brushed off unless Keisuke struck a rare nerve. There’d been a lot of arguing in the beginning during their time in the Digital World, but by the end of it they’d become a team and the best of friends. Looking back on it now, Hiroaki was surprised that he’d allowed himself to drift away from all of that. He hadn’t seen any of them in the last eighteen years. They had all obviously kept in touch with each other though…

“Hey, Mr. Grumpy Face,” Yumi smirked as she plopped down next to him. The two of them watched Saito, Haru and Keisuke argue about whose fault it had been the time a ticked off Monzaemon had chased them through a hedge maze. “What’s up?”

“I’ve just been thinking,” Hiroaki sighed.

“Uh oh,” Yumi snickered.

“Reminiscing really,” Hiroaki smiled. “And wondering how I let it happen.”

“Let what happen?” Yumi frowned in confusion.

“Let myself drift away from you guys,” Hiroaki sighed again. “I’ve missed this.”

“You mean watching those three make fools out of themselves?” Yumi laughed as they watched the other three humans make faces as they mocked one another. Haru made a particularly hilarious expression as he ran in place exaggerating Keisuke being scared of the Monzaemon that had chased them. Keisuke them proceeded to smack the shorter man upside the head, leading to a tussle on the ground with the Digimon laughing and egging them on. Saito was trying to break up the fight.

Hiroaki shook his head, running a hand through his hair.

“So you kept to yourself,” Yumi shrugged, still snickering at the spectacle before them. “You were busy with your new life, new job, new wife, and then your new family. We understand and we’re just glad that we’re all back together again, extenuating and horrible circumstances aside of course.”

“Thanks, Yu,” Hiroaki smiled.

“It’s all right,” Yumi smiled back, wrapping an arm around his shoulders as they watched the spectacle going on before them. Saito had failed in stopping the fight and had actually joined in at some point and was now grappling on the ground with the other two. “Gods, it’s like they’re teenagers again.”

“I suppose we’d better go break it up,” Hiroaki laughed.

“If we want to get any sleep tonight we should,” Yumi agreed.

After the fight had been broken up (it had been more of a play fight anyway), the camp settled down and everyone got some sleep. The next morning, everyone packed up quickly and managed to arrive at the base of the mountain by early afternoon.

“This is where most of us part,” Gennai informed them. “While most of the Digimon and myself will return to the base, you five, Gabumon, and the Palmon will proceed to the Primary Village. If you don’t find your old partners there, you may learn from Elecmon where you might continue your search. Hiroaki, here is a map of File Island and a communicator. When you’ve all found the other partner Digimon, report back on the communicator and I’ll give you instructions on how to get back to the base.”

“Thank you, Gennai,” Saito nodded as Hiroaki took the map and comm. device from the digital man.

Gennai nodded and with that all said and done, he and the bulk of their Digimon scouting party left for the base.

“Primary Village isn’t far from here,” one of the three Palmon that had remained said.

“We should be there by night fall,” another informed them as they began heading off into the forest.

“Do you guys really think we’ll find any of our old friends there?” Yumi asked.

“Who knows?” Keisuke shrugged. “What do you think, Gabumon?”

Hiroaki looked over at his old friend as the Digimon thought the question over.

“There is always a chance someone is there,” Gabumon admitted. “But I wouldn’t count on it. Not a lot of Digimon remain in primary village after reaching their In-Training forms. But that’s not what I’m most worried about. Very few of the old world Digimon are around anymore with their memories in tact. Most of us have been reborn with new data as new Digimon. And fewer still remember their past lives before being reborn in Primary Village again.”

“But you did,” Yumi pointed out hopefully.

“I did,” Gabumon nodded. “Because I had faith that no matter how long I waited, Hiroaki would come back someday and we’d be friends again. I just knew it somehow.”

Hiroaki smiled fondly down at his Digimon partner.

“Maybe we all did,” Haru mused, looking down at his digivice. “I mean, we’ve all been holding on to these old pieces of junk even after all these years, haven’t we?”

Saito, Yumi and even Keisuke smiled, looking down at their own inactive digivices. It was certainly something to think about as they made their way through the forest on a mission to reunite the whole original team of DigiDestined.

 

** Tamer Digital World: Location: Level 1 - Raiser’s Plateau **

The next morning began with a heat wave. Normally Minami didn’t mind the heat, but it was really hot after the cooler temperatures they’d had during the memorial service. But at least there was no hot sun beating down on them. The sky was still that stormy grey it had been ever since they’d arrived in the Digital World. She noticed that Alice was already up talking to Jijimon and Babamon. Kai was still asleep however, sprawled out on the mat he’d been given to sleep on. A lot of the Gotsumon were already up bustling around, cleaning things up and maintaining the small shrine they’d made in honor of the fallen Warrior DigiDestined of Fire. Chuchidarumon were making what Minami assumed was breakfast while the Chrysalimon, Infermon and Diaboramon could be seen in the distance doing something. The only Digimon that were still asleep were the Jagamon.

“Good morning.”

Minami jumped a bit and spun around to see one of the Chuchidarumon smiling down at her. Or at least, she assumed it was smiling. It’s eyes were crinkled in a way that suggested that the Digimon was smiling. That was one of the strange things about some of these Digimon. They didn’t appear to have mouths until they opened them to eat. It made her wonder how Digimon like the Chuchidarumon could talk without opening their mouths. Rika’s Renamon could be like that sometimes as well. Were they telepaths or something?

“Ah… Good morning,” she stammered in reply as she bowed. “Can I help you?”

“I just came over to inform you that breakfast is ready. Maybe you can wake your friend so that he can eat with you and Miss Alice,” the Chuchidarumon suggested.

Minami nodded and began to shake Kai’s shoulder.

“Kai, it’s time to get up.”

Kai only grumbled and rolled over onto his other side. Minami sighed.

“Breakfast,” she stated in a clear voice.

Kai shot up and looked around for the meal she spoke of. She couldn’t help a small giggle at his reaction.

“This way, dears,” the Chuchidarumon called to them before heading off towards a growing line of Digimon.

Alice joined Minami and Kai after they’d all gotten their food and sat down on a patch of earth near a small group of Jagamon. She informed them of what she’d been talking about with Jijimon and Babamon.

“Babamon thinks that the main lock for this level might be in what the Digimon call Devimon’s Needle,” she informed them. “It’s apparently the biggest landmark on this level of the Digital World. It’s a tall cone shaped mountain that goes straight up to the next level, making it the most direct travel route to get there, but it’s impossible to climb to the top.”

“Then how are we supposed to get to the next level?” Kai frowned in confusion.

“Apparently there is a hidden spiral staircase inside the mountain that takes you straight up to the top and to the next level,” Alice mused. “Problem is, no one has been able to enter the mountain to take those stairs.”

“So the lock we’re looking for must be on the outside,” Minami mused. “If we make it into the mountain, we can make it to the next level.”

“That’s the idea at any rate,” Alice agreed.

“Great!” Kai grinned. “Right after we eat, we should go straight there.”

Minami nodded.

“I told Jijimon and Babamon as much earlier,” Alice stated. “They’re going to be accompanying us on our trip it seems. They want to make sure that we get to the Sovereign all right and see that Kenta and Kazu get help sent their way.”

“Sweet!” Kai laughed. “Our own Digimon guard!”

After breakfast, the three humans, Jijimon, Babamon, the first Gatsumon that they’d met, some Chuchidarumon, and an Infermon with some Chrysalimon set out back through the canyon heading towards Devimon’s Needle. Thankfully the landmark wasn’t far away from their current location and when they reached the other side of the canyon early in the afternoon, they saw the tall and impossibly thin looking rock formation that stretched high into the sky so far that the top couldn’t be seen as it faded into the tip that gave the landmark it’s name. The group then began the arduous task of searching the base for anything that might indicate a way inside the mountain. All afternoon they had no luck and as everyone began to tire, they settled down for a rest.

When they were all awake again they renewed their efforts to find an entrance to the mountain’s tunnels. After hours of searching Minami was beginning to feel discouraged until Kai cried out, saying that he’d discovered something. Everyone rushed over to where he’d been searching with the Gatsumon.

“Check it out! Gatsumon found it,” Kai beamed at her as she and Alice peered over to see what he’d found.

“…It’s a rock.” Alice frowned down a large round rock that was about the size of their heads.

“And yet it’s not,” Kai smirked as his hand moved to touch the rock and phased through it, the rock going staticy like a bad hologram when he touched it.

“Ok, so it’s not a rock,” Alice mused as she crouched down to get a better look at Kai’s discovery.

“Hey, wait a sec,” Kai frowned as his hand moved around in the strange object. “There’s something in here.”

After a few minutes of Kai fiddling, there was a loud click sound.

“Whoa,” the boy blinked. “There’s a catch-switch of some kind in here. I’m gonna pull it, ok? Maybe you guys should stand back.”

Alice nodded and pulled Minami back a couple meters. Minami watched the tan-skinned boy nervously as he pulled whatever was in the not-rock. There was a loud clang when Kai was done pulling and the ground began to shake. Then the wall of mountain in front of Kai seemed to explode, sending a large cloud of dust billowing out and hiding Kai from their sight.

“Kai!” Minami cried in alarm as she pulled her arms up to shield herself from the dust cloud.

When the dust settled, Minami stared in awe at the great opening in Devimon’s Needle’s side. The inside was lighting up with strange red lights that flickered on and off until they turned green and remained on. The mountain began to hum and the green lights grew brighter and brighter until they were nearly blinding. When the lights reached their brightest, they flashed and a charge of green energy flooded out of the tunnels and shot up the mountain where it pulsed, rippling across the sky. There was a loud crackle in the air that had everyone covering their ears. Looking up, Minami noticed that the red and black orb in the sky now had a pink beam shooting out of it and was touching down somewhere in the far distance.

“Wow… Did I do that?”

Tearing her eyes away from the beam of pink light, Minami noticed Kai, sprawled on his back covered in a thick coat of sandy dust gazing up wide eyed at the sky.

“Congratulations, Kai, you’ve just unlocked the next level to the Digital World,” Alice smirked.

“I did?” Kai blinked up at her.

“You did!” Minami cried as realization and excitement of what had just happened filled her. “Oh, Kai, you did it!”

She rushed over to the boy and hugged him tightly.

“I guess I did,” Kai laughed as he hugged her back. “I could have done without the sand bomb that came when the doors opened though.”

Alice and Minami laughed as the Digimon began cheering and celebrating.

“All right, all right! Yes, yes, the level is unlocked,” Jijimon grouched. “Yeesh! You’d think that they’d done somethin’ amazing’.”

“Enough, cheering!” Babamon snapped. “Just because we can now enter the mountain doesn’t necessarily mean that we can reach the next level. You all can cheer when we actually get there.”

Everyone reigned in their excitement, but that didn’t stop the excited whispers as everyone began to make their way inside the now dimly lit tunnels of Devimon’s Needle.

“Onward and upwards I guess,” Minami smiled.

“Right,” Alice nodded. “Come on, Kai.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Kai sighed as he began to brush himself off.

Together the three of them followed the Digimon and began the long climb up to the next level of the Digital World.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Well it looks like everyone's finally gotten started! Will Hiroaki and his friends find any of their old partners in Primary Village? What can Shinya and Yutaka expect when they reach Flame Terminal? And will Alice, Minami and Kai be able to make it through to Level 2 of their Digital World? Well I guess you'll just have to find out next time on Digimon: Digital Monsters!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a hard time starting this one. I just could not get started, and was hit with writer's block each time I started a new section of this chapter. And it ended up being such a fluffy chapter! No action at all until that last bit with the Tamers. Sorry, no Savers in this chapter.


	15. Chapter 14: Leveling Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously on Digimon: Digital Monsters...
> 
> Frontier World – Shinya and Yutaka finally board a Trailmon and are on their way to Flame Terminal. They meet a number of Digimon on the train and are treated well when they stop for an overnight stay in Breezy Village.
> 
> Adventure World – Hiroaki and his old team catch up on old times as they make their way back down Infinity Mountain with plans to head for Primary Village.
> 
> Tamers World – Minami, Kai and Alice set out with a group of Digimon from the memorial service for Devimon’s Needle to search for the lock to the next level of the Digital World. Kai and Gotsumon find it in a fake rock and unlock the entrance to the impossible mountain’s hidden staircase to level two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I DO NOT OWN DIGIMON ADVENTURE, 02, TAMERS, FRONTIER OR ANY IT'S CHARACTERS!

** Tamer Digital World: Location: Level 1 ½ - Stairs to Level 2 **

Kai huffed as they continued to climb up the never-ending staircase that supposedly led to the second level of the Digital World. He was so sick of stairs at this point. He wasn’t sure how long they’d spent going onwards and upwards, but it felt like an eternity to him. Everything was the same; same looking stretch of spiral staircase, same green low lighting, and the same round about conversations about what to expect on the next level and where to go to look for the next lock.

He could appreciate Alice’s steadfast and determined focus, and Minami’s optimistic outlook on their mission, but come on! They were in the Digital World for crying out loud! Kai was more interested in exploring, so if it took a little longer to find that second lock, he wasn’t going to complain. Especially if they had to climb more stairs. The next level was supposed to be a forest jungle or something. That could be fun. Better then the desert that made up the first level. Then again, the first level hadn’t been that bad. He’d met Gotsumon there after all.

Speaking of the rock Digimon, Gotsumon was rolling his eyes as Alice and Minami once again began discussing what to do once they reached Level 2.

“Are they going to talk about anything else?” the Digimon groused in his gravelly voice.

“I wish they would,” Kai sighed. “There’s no real point in planning anything until we actually get there and get a better idea of what we’re dealing with.”

“So you humans can have sense,” Gotsumon chuckled.

“Still,” Kai said, wanting to be supportive of his two lovely companions, “it doesn’t hurt to be prepared. Alice likes to have an objective, and I’m sure Minami feels a lot better having an idea of what we’re going to do next.”

“What more is there to plan at this point?” Gotsumon huffed. “We get to the next level, we observe our surroundings, hopefully find a Digimon that can point out a landmark or special location where the lock to Level 3 might be, go to said location, and check for a lock. If it’s not there, fine, we find another location. If it is there, great, we move on and start all over again. Rinse and repeat.”

Kai snickered at the rock Digimon’s snarky but accurate outlook on their quest.

“You’re all right, Gotsumon.”

“You’re not so bad yourself. You know, for a human,” Gatsumon said back.

“Hey!” Minami suddenly shouted. “I see a light up ahead!”

Kai and Gatsumon looked up and sure enough, there was a growing patch of white light along the walls overlaying the dim green that had been lighting their way for so long. Excited, everyone started to run up the stairs and were almost overwhelmed by the light when they suddenly found themselves outside. Even though it was twilight on this level too, the natural light was so much brighter than that of the dim green glow that had illuminated the walls of the staircase.

Once he recovered, Kai stood blinking, trying to take in their new surroundings. A gentle breeze wafted into the clearing they found themselves in, but on all sides there was a dense wall of trees ranging from forest spruce, to tropical palm trees. Everything was so…green. Looking behind him, Kai noticed a humongous moss covered rock that had an opening leading back down the stairs they’d just come up.

“So…what now?” Minami asked, looking to Alice.

“We should probably camp out here for now,” Alice answered. “It’s been a long climb. We can decide what to do once everyone’s well rested.”

“Now there’s a plan I can get behind,” Gotsumon yawned. “Night all!”

Kai just stared in bewilderment as the Digimon plopped down where he’d been standing and curled up on himself, looking like nothing more than a pile of rocks.

Some of the other Digimon accompanying them shrugged and did likewise.

Kai decided to join Alice and Minami, helping them gather firewood and setting up camp and a watch.

“Jijimon? Babamon? Have either of you been to this level before?” Alice asked the only two Digimon that hadn’t gone to sleep yet.

“Of course!” Jijimon scoffed. “We’ve been to every level there is, that was and will be!”

“Quit exaggeratin’!” Babamon scolded. “We’ve been ta every level, sure, but we’ve never stayed at every one. Just passed through.”

Before the two could get into another bickering match, Alice cut in again.

“Have you ever stayed in this one?” she asked.

“This one? No,” Babamon shook her head.

“Why?” Minami asked.

“Because it’s humid! And hot! And sticky! And there’s a whole bunch of noisy Digimon about!” Jijimon complained.

“I don’t hear any noisy Digimon,” Kai said, looking towards the thick forest surrounding them.

“Just you wait,” Jijimon huffed. “Loud, the lot of them, those Gekomon.”

“Gekomon?” Minami mused. “Now why does that sound familiar?”

“Because it was while helping out a bunch of Gekomon that Kazu met Guardromon and afterwards they became partners,” Alice mused. “At least that’s what I remember reading from the files that my uncle and the others at Hypnos had compiled on Takato and the others’ adventures when they were here last time.”

“So Kazu got himself a Guardromon for a partna, huh?” Babamon mused.

“Could’ve done worse,” Jijimon nodded. “Not as cool as me of course!”

“Or me!” Babamon added.

“No, me! I was the one he wanted to have as a partner.”

“He liked me more!”

“No, your shrill voice annoyed him.”

Kai, Minami and Alice sighed as the two married mega Digimon went at it, arguing which one Kazu had liked better. They went at it for quite a while. Kai wasn’t sure how he managed it, but he was somehow able to fall asleep.

When he woke up everybody was on the move packing up their few meager supplies, and breakfast (a bowl of rice and some root vegetables) was being handed out. Kai ate his food with gusto – never one to turn down a meal no matter how little or plain it was, so long as it didn’t taste too bad – and quickly joined in the discussion of where to go next.

“Any direction seems to be as good as the next,” Minami was saying.

“I agree,” Gotsumon nodded. “There is no path to follow, so lets just pick a direction and march on.”

“I suppose we have no choice,” Alice sighed.

And so they were off again in some random direction. Jijimon and Babamon led the way, knocking plant life out of the new makeshift path with their broom and staff. Gotsumon would climb a tree every now and then to see if they were headed towards anything, but according to the rock Digimon, there was nothing but treetops for as far as his eyes could see. A few hours into their journey Kai was beginning to miss the desert of level 1. At least the desert had been a dry heat. This forest was more like a jungle. Jijimon had been right when he’d been complaining that it was hot, humid and sticky.

Kai would have resorted to taking off his shirt if it weren’t keeping his pack’s straps from chafing his skin. He pulled his hair back into a high and firmer ponytail to keep the long locks off the back of his neck. Minami did the same to her hair for the same reasons. Kai and Minami weren’t envious one bit of Alice’s long thick golden locks that the blond actually had to resort to pinning up with clips. Needless to say the trek was miserable and they didn’t seem to be getting anywhere.

Finally though, after hours upon endless hours of traveling, they managed to find a river. Feeling accomplished, they struck camp again and took turns washing and cooling off in the refreshing waters. Once everyone was well rested again, they followed the river’s current and came to a large lake. In the middle of the lake was a shrine with a large bonfire like Kai had seen on TV for the Olympics. Surrounding the fire on the platform were strings and wreaths of flowers and offerings. It was obviously a tribute shrine to Takuya.

“I think we’ve found where this level’s inhabitants reside,” Alice sighed.

“Yeah,” Kai nodded, looking along the shores. “Now all we have to do is find them.”

“And hope they can point us in the right direction of this level’s lock,” Minami added.

 

** Frontier Digital World: Location: Breezy Village **

That morning Yutaka and Shinya woke up bright and early and left Bokomon and Neemon behind while they were still asleep so that they could have a look around Breezy Village before they had to leave for Flame Terminal. For the first time since arriving in the Digital World Yutaka allowed himself to relax. Breezy Village reminded him of a small town in Hokkaido that he and his family had visited once. Flowers were everywhere and everything seemed so serine and peaceful. If he used his imagination and pretended that Shinya was Tommy, then he could relive the mornings of that trip where he and Tommy had snuck out to take walks around town while their parents slept in. Granted, the Digimon creatures that were there in place of humans made that fantasy hard to pull off, but this early in the morning, his brain allowed him this small moment of peace. If Shinya’s silence and dazed expression was any indication, then the kid was playing out his own memories.

The two of them were content to tour the village in silence, each pretending that the other was their brother in memories that only they were privy to. Yutaka held Shinya’s hand as they walked down streets, passed shops only just opening their doors, and nodded at the occasional passers-by. Shinya leaned into Yutaka’s side whenever they stopped whether it was to let Digimon by on a narrow path, or to look at merchandise and sample some food. The tranquility of the fantasy couldn’t last forever though.

Half an hour before Worm was scheduled to leave, Bokomon and Neemon finally found them. The tiny white bear Digimon was all in a huff about being left behind. Neemon had been flustered, but didn’t appear to have a care in the world once they were all together again. Yutaka and Shinya traded amused smirks with each other as they allowed Bokomon to herd them towards the Trailmon station and aboard the car.

They were reunited with Lillymon and Rosemon after Worm pulled out of the station. The two flower Digimon informed them that they had come aboard with a large shipment of flowers the Floramon had prepared for them for Takuya’s Fire Warrior Shrine that was going up in Flame Terminal. The two went into great detail describing flowers that were both familiar to them from Earth, and unique to the Digital World alone. The two humans even allowed themselves to be taken back to the storage car to see these flowers. Yutaka didn’t really pay much attention to what the Digimon were saying, however. The flowers were nice, yeah, but didn’t really capture his attention. He’d never been much of a nature guy.

Thankfully Breezy Village was only a six-hour trip via Trailmon to Flame Terminal and Worm pulled them into the station in the early hours of the afternoon. Yutaka wasn’t, however, expecting the huge reception waiting for their little party.

There were flocks of pink bird Digimon – Biyomon, like that Sora girl’s partner – and tall grey rabbit looking Digimon that Bokomon called Gazimon and all these little grey Digimon called Pagumon that had floppy ears and were only big heads. There were also some pink heads called Koromon, the pink and blue octopus-radish-looking Digimon – Yokomon, and a whole bunch of other Digimon that Yutaka couldn’t be bothered with to remember the names of. There were just so many of them all bowing and welcoming them to Flame Terminal.

Yutaka wasn’t sure how he did it, but Bokomon managed to break them away from the large crowd and brought them to a hut near the terminal. It was small and cramped for Yutaka, but for short Digimon like Bokomon and Neemon, Yutaka supposed that it was pretty big by their standards as well as the standards of most of the Digimon in Flame Terminal. The hut next door was apparently Bokomon’s home.

“This is where you two will be staying while we’re here at Flame Terminal,” Bokomon informed them. “I know it’s small by human standards, but there’s not much else available at the moment. As you saw, Flame Terminal is full of Digimon, many of which have traveled all this way to honor Takuya.”

“Do you know where the shrine is going to be?” Shinya asked.

“Of course!” Bokomon exclaimed looking slightly scandalized, as if just asking were an insult to his knowledge. “The Shrine is being erected where Takuya first accepted Agunimon as his Digimon Spirit and became the Warrior of Flame. It’s in what used to be the industrial zone, but since the Digital World reformed after the defeat of Lucemon, Flame Terminal has cleaned the area up. There was already a shrine to the Warrior of Flame there, but now they’ll be adding on to it in honor of Takuya.”

“Can we go see it?” Shinya asked.

“Not yet,” Bokomon shook his head. “It isn’t complete yet, but I’ve been assured by the builders that we’ll be the first to see it before it’s grand opening to the public.”

“So what are we going to do in the meantime?” Yutaka asked.

“Right now, we need to get you two started on working on your Spirit Evolutions. You have the Spirits of Wood and Metal, but according to Lady Ophanimon you have yet to execute the transformations on your own. Fortunately, unlike Takuya and the others, you won’t have to learn on the fly in the midst of battle like they had to. Here we have proper and controlled training conditions available to us.”

“What, like a gym?” Yutaka frowned.

“What’s a gym?” Neemon asked.

“Apparently not,” Shinya snickered.

“What I mean, is that we have a space and volunteer sparing partners willing to help you both work on your transformations and fighting capabilities,” Bokomon sighed. “Since the shrine won’t be done for another couple of days at least, we’ll get started on your training first thing tomorrow.”

“Why not now?” Yutaka asked. “We could still work in a couple of hours of training in before night fall. Isn’t it better for us to get started sooner, rather than later?”

“Yeah,” Shinya nodded in agreement.

“Well…” Bokomon said with a frown. “I suppose you are right. The sooner you two have a handle on your human spirits, the sooner we can move on to find the two other humans for the Spirits of Water and Earth, as well as your Beast Spirits.”

“Sweet,” Shinya grinned.

“Well what are we waiting for?” Neemon said, clapping his hands together. “Lets go!”

Ten minutes later, Yutaka and Shinya found themselves outside Flame Terminal’s more populated sections and in a clearing in the woods with Bokomon, Neemon, and a Digimon that looked like a human wizard, pointy hat and all, but with an ice theme. The Digimon introduced himself as Sorcermon, and turned out to be a devoted servant of Lord Seraphimon.

“But if you work for Seraphimon, why are you here and not at the palace?” Yutaka asked.

“When our world was sealed off from yours and all other parallel worlds, he asked me to come here to see if I could find a way to open a portal back to at least our corresponding human world,” the Digimon informed them. “So far I’ve had minimal success, but with your presence here, I may make some headway to at least establish a temporary portal.”

“Really?” Shinya asked. “We may be able to go home?”

“Yes. Hopefully long enough for you two to find the other two Spirit Warrior hosts at any rate,” Sorcermon nodded.

“Well that’s something at least,” Yutaka sighed. “But to get back to the point of our being here presently…”

“Ah, yes. Your Spirit Evolutions. You have your D-Tectors, I trust?” Sorcermon asked.

“You mean these things?” Shinya asked, pulling out what had once been his cellphone. Yutaka did the same with his.

Sorcermon spent the next few minutes showing them how to work the devices (though how he knew how to work them as well as he did was anybody’s guess but he’d apparently had an opportunity to examine Tommy’s for a short time way back then) and how to pull up their Human Spirits so that they could transform. After that, the two began the mentally draining process of trying to find the motivation to call up the data ring that was supposed to appear on the hand opposite to the one they held the D-Tector in so that they could scan it and transform. How Takuya, Tommy and the others were able to instinctively do this and transform during a battle was beyond Yutaka, who struggled to summon his in comparison to Shinya who got it on the fifth try.

“You’re over thinking it,” Sorcermon told him after Yutaka’s tenth failed attempt. “You’re trying to apply logic where there is none. This has nothing to do with your human physics and natural laws. In the Digital World, a Digimon digivolves as a result of a strong will and of it’s fighting _spirit_ , hence why these transformations care called “ _Spirit_ Evolutions.” Now try again, but this time close your eyes and try to feel it inside your spirit, not summon it with your mind, and ask yourself…why are you here? Why are you doing this?”

Yutaka huffed, thinking that the advice sounded like some new-age hippy bullshit, but closed his eyes anyway and relaxed his body, trying to feel whatever it was he was supposed to feel. He just had to remind himself why he was doing this in the first place. He was doing this for Tommy, so that he could find his little brother again, and he was doing this for Shinya, so that he could protect the little brother of the kid who had looked after his own.

That’s when he felt it. A thrumming in his veins. A rush of feeling that was both cold as steel, and as hot as fire in a forge. His element… His Spirit Partner.

“ _I knew you could do this_ …”

Tetsukomon?

“You did it, Yutaka!”

Yutaka opened his eyes and saw Shinya standing in front of him beaming. He glanced down at his hand and saw the ring of data he’d been trying to summon for the last hour.

“Oh, well done, my boy!” Bokomon cried. “See, Neemon? I told you he could do it! I never doubted him for a second.”

“But weren’t you just saying that the Spirits might have made a mistake in choosing someone older?” Neemon asked, only to get his pants snapped in retaliation.

“I said nothing of the sort!” Bokomon protested.

“But you did!”

“Silence!”

“Well I think we’ve made a lot of progress today,” Sorcermon said, ignoring the two bickering Digimon. “We’ll continue tomorrow.”

“But we haven’t even transformed yet,” Shinya frowned.

“Perhaps, but you two have made a lot of progress. It might not feel like it, but to be able to summon the ring in order to transform at will is a lot more than the others had been able to do when they first started. It took them many battles to be able to get this far. They needed a purpose for transforming and often did it in the heat of the moment.”

“…I guess,” Shinya frowned.

“We’ll see you tomorrow then,” Yutaka sighed. “Thanks for today.”

“It’s been a pleasure. I’ll see you in the morning,” Sorcermon bowed before taking his leave.

 

** The Adventure Digital World: Location: A forest at the base of Infinity Mountain **

“Aren’t we there yet?” Keisuke groaned.

“Please don’t start,” Yumi huffed.

“We should be there in another hour or so if we don’t stop again,” one of the Palmon informed the group.

“I have noticed that the trees have begun to thin out,” Haru mused.

“Good for you,” Saito sighed. “Well, gang? Shall we?”

“I suppose,” Yumi grunted as she allowed her husband to heft her back onto her feet so that they could set out again.

The day had been long and the trek had been hard on them. Hiroaki found himself realizing for the um-teenth time that they weren’t as young as they used to be. Their stamina was depleted and they ended up taking more frequent and longer breaks, but thankfully, like the Palmon promised, they found themselves entering Primary Village an hour later just after sundown. Elecmon was waiting for them.

“Welcome! Gennai sent word ahead that you guys were on your way here. I don’t know if I’ll be of any help, but I can certainly try,” the spiky furred Digimon said. “Come! You must be hungry. You’ll have to be quiet though, I just got all the babies to go to sleep.”

The travel-weary group followed Elecmon through a field of Digimon baby cradles before coming to a building where they were able to sit on comfortable chairs and cushions. Elecmon served them fish and rice, allowing them to recover before discussing any business. He knew why they were there and hoped the he could at least point them in the right direction. He’d been raising babies for as long as he could remember, and knew everything there was to know about Digimon rebirth. Not many remembered their past lives, most often due to dying traumatically, and didn’t want to remember. Few passed away peacefully, made up of obsolete and old data that needed to be reconfigured, and all Digimon weren’t always reborn in the same areas they’d lived their previous lives in. The Digimon partners for the original DigiDestined could be anywhere in this world. He told them all this after they’d eaten and rested some.

“So they might not even be on File Island? Where do we even start to look, then?” Yumi asked.

“I would start right here on the island,” Elecmon said. “You said your partner was a Biyomon, correct?”

“Yes,” she nodded.

“Then I suggest you start your search at the Yokomon village. Most Yokomon on File Island live there. It’s where Sora’s partner lived for a time before she felt the call of the digivice and set out to find her human partner.”

“I see,” Yumi mused.

“What about the rest of us?” Saito asked.

“The whereabouts of the other partners might be harder destinations to figure out. I know that on Server Continent there is a village of Koromon where Tai found his Crest of Courage, so that’s a possibility, but that’s off island. And finding your friend’s Patamon and Tentomon will be a bit trickier. Patamon and Tentomon are forest dwelling Digimon, but they travel a lot too, living in nomadic groups. The best guess I can think of off the top of my head here on File Island is the Forest of Signs. Insect Digimon like the mountainous area, so finding a swarm of Tentomon could be likely. Patamon are harder to figure out, but I’d look in higher elevations for them. They are particularly fond of rivers and streams. Tokomon like splashing about.”

“So what should we do?” Haru asked, looking to Hiroaki and Saito who were looking over the map that Gennai had given them.

“I think we should check out the Forest of Signs for Keisuke’s partner first,” Saito mused.

Hiroaki nodded. “We have to pass through the forest anyway because a part of it lies between Primary Village and the Yokomon Village.”

“Sounds good to me,” Yumi smiled.

“Are there any particular areas of interest in the forest where Digimon like to gather, Elecmon?” Keisuke asked.

“Most forest communities like along the river,” Elecmon said, pointing a paw at said river on the map. “But for insect Digimon, I’d look in the thick of the forest here in the more tropical jungle parts. They like the humidity. Although…”

“What?” Hiroaki asked.

“Well… Izzi’s partner is a Tentomon as well…” Elecmon mused. “You might want to check out the Temple of the Digivice. The temple is a place that has more of a connection to Izzi than his partner, but if I’m reading you right, Keisuke, you and Izzi are a lot alike. Even if your partner doesn’t remember you, he might be drawn there. And even if he’s not there, you can at least consult with Centarumon. He protects the place and knows the forest a lot better than I do, so he might be able to help narrow your search area down a bit.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Saito nodded, marking the location of the temple on the map.

“I only hope that Centarumon is there when we arrive,” Hiroaki mused. “He was part of the party that climbed Infinity Mountain and might have gone back to base with Gennai.”

“Well let’s hope not,” Yumi sighed.

“If not, we can head to Yokomon Village first and then come back through later on our way to the mountainous region of the Island to try to find Patamon,” Haru spoke up.

“Unimon would be able to help you out in that area,” Elecmon mused. “If you’d like, I can send word out that you guys are looking for your partners. It might take a while since I kind of live in a secluded area of the Island for the safety of the babies I raise, but once word spreads I’m sure you’ll find yourselves getting a lot of help.”

“We’d appreciate that, thank you,” Hiroaki smiled.

“Well!” Saito said, clapping his hands together. “We’ve got a plan! Now why don’t we hit the hay and get some rest, people? It sounds like we’ve got a lot more traveling to do tomorrow.”

And with that, the group settled down for the night.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Looks like the three groups are finally getting somewhere. Kai, Alice and Minami have made it to level 2 and seem to have located an area where the level's inhabitants might live. Yutaka and Shinya have arrived in Flame Terminal and begin learning how to use their spirits. And Hiroaki and his friends seem to have a game plan on how to find their partners. I can only hope everything turns out to be as easy as it sounds. I guess we'll find out for sure next time on Digimon: Digital Monsters!


	16. Chapter 15: Getting Somewhere

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously on Digimon: Digital Monsters...
> 
> Tamers World – Kai and company have finally made it to level 2 and are searching for the level’s inhabitants. They discover a memorial shrine out on a lake for Takuya and now begin to look for signs of the Gekomon that put it there.
> 
> Frontier World – Shinya and Yutaka arrive at Flame Terminal at last and after a large reception, begin training with Sorcermon to learn how to better use their new Spirit Partners and transform into the Warriors of Wood and Steel.
> 
> Adventure World – Hiroaki and his team make their way to Primary Village where Elecmon greets them. The baby Digimon caretaker recommends that they set out for the Yokomon Village first where Yumi is more than likely to find her old partner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I DO NOT OWN DIGIMON ADVENTURE, 02, TAMERS, FRONTIER OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS!

** Tamer Digital World: Location: Level 2 – Gekomon Lake **

Minami looked around at their surroundings with interest. They’d spent the rest of yesterday going around the lake in an attempt to find the inhabitants of this level, but despite the signs of life and habitation, they just couldn’t find where the village was. Not even a hint of a path. Kai and his new Gotsumon friend were getting frustrated – many of the other Digimon were – but Alice remained calm. Minami admired that about the other girl.

“So, what now? Do we just spread out and search around in a spiral or something around the lake?” Kai asked.

“Haven’t some of the other Digimon tried that already?” Gotsumon asked. “Jijimon just left again with another group a short while ago.”

“You boys need ta learn patience,” Babamon was sighing. “You knew this wouldn’t be easy. Be grateful things are cooler here down by tha lake.”

Minami tuned out of the reoccurring argument. No one knew what to do and the shrine for Takuya was their only real clue and evidence that there were even Digimon living on this level. She went back to observe the stretch of water closest to their camp and stared out over the lake at the shrine. It was kind of peaceful. The sound of water lapping at the shore and the soft crackling of the distant bonfire coupled with the sound of wind in the trees made her feel at peace. It also made her long for home and her father, reminding her of the beach house they lived in during the summer in Okinawa.

“Are you alright?”

Minami looked up and saw Alice standing next to her, also looking out over the lake.

“I’m fine.” Minami smiled softly. “Just a little home sick I guess.”

Alice nodded before her gaze sharpened and squinted at something in the distance.

“Oh! How could I be so stupid?!” the blond suddenly exploded. “Gekomon! Jijimon and Babamon said that there were Gekomon living on this level. They’re water Digimon. They must have a village under the lake!”

“How do you figure that?” Minami asked.

“Look,” Alice said, pointing. “See that shadow under the shrine? There are support beams beneath it, keeping it in place. It’s not a raft or set up on rocks like we thought. They continue down deep into the lake and you can’t see anything down there. We’ve looked around the surrounding areas, so where else could they be?”

“But didn’t the Gekomon that Takato and the others met live here on land making milkshakes?”

“Yes, but who says that this is the same lake where they fought Orochimon and met Guardromon? We could be on the other side of the level from that particular Gekomon Village.”

“I suppose,” Minami mused, trying to see into the water.

“What are you girls talking about?” Kai asked, joining them.

“I think the Digimon we’re looking for live in the lake,” Alice told him.

“Well that figures,” Gotsumon grumbled, eyeing the water warily.

“Ok, so how do we get down there?” Minami asked.

“We swim of course!” Kai grinned. “How are you in water, Alice?”

Alice frowned. “I’m decent.”

“Then what are we waiting for?!” Kai crowed, casting off his shirt.

“Hold on!” Alice said, grabbing his arm. “There’s something I want to test first. You two wait here.”

Minami traded a confused glance with Kai before nodding and watched Alice wade into the water in her black dress until the water closed over her head.

They waited for a few minutes, and Minami was getting more and more anxious the longer Alice remained underwater. After about five minutes Alice reemerged from the water, calm as a clam and walked ashore looking satisfied about something. Something was strange though as she rejoined them.

“You’re not wet!” Kai exclaimed, reaching a hand forward to feel Alice’s skirt.

Minami startled in surprise and did the same. Kai was right. Alice’s skirt was still as crisp and lacy as it had been before she’d walked into the water. Her hair wasn’t even damp.

“I was able to breath underwater too,” Alice said, looking a little smug.

“WHAT?!” Minami and Kai exclaimed in shock.

“I retested a theory that Henry had when he and Takako were stuck in underwater caves during their trip here. Remember? Mr. Yamaki and Mr. Wong mentioned it back at Hypnos HQ. If you think you won’t get wet, you won’t, and if you think you can breathe under water you can breathe normally. It’s all mind over matter.”

“Sweet!” Kai grinned. “Let me try!”

Minami watched as Kai dashed off slashing into the water and dove under. He was gone for five minutes before he resurfaced with a beaming grin.

“Dude, this is so sweet!” he crowed. “Minami! Gatsumon! You have _got_ to try this!”

Gotsumon looked uneasily at the water. Minami didn’t blame him. And yet the rock Digimon lifted his head high and marched into the water, sinking… well, like a rock. When he didn’t surface, Minami carefully waded in after him before plunging under.

It sure felt like water, she floated and drifted with the current as if she was in water, but she reminded herself that this was the Digital World. Earth physics and laws of nature didn’t necessarily apply here. As long as she believed she would, she’d stay dry like Alice had. It helped seeing Gotsumon looking relaxed, though he had his arms crossed at a beaming Kai. Minami couldn’t help giggling, completely forgetting for a moment that she was supposedly underwater. When the water didn’t enter her lungs and choke her, Minami took in a deep breath, relishing in the cool air that entered her lungs. Odd, but nice. She wondered if they could talk underwater too.

“Minami, isn’t this the coolest?!” Kai called out to her.

Well. That answered that question.

“Yeah.” She smiled, swimming over to him.

“Lets go see if we can find that village now,” Alice said, suddenly appearing beside them with Babamon in tow.

“Right!” Kai and Gotsumon cheered, pumping fists in the air.

 

** Frontier Digital World: Location: Flame Terminal **

Yutaka was exhausted. They’d been at it all morning, summoning their data rings and actually transforming into their Human Spirit Evolutions. Again, Shinya got his transformation down after a couple of tries. Yutaka’s had taken a bit longer, but each time he did it right, the easier it was to replicate the process. But just the act of transforming was draining. Even before they’d tried using their spirit powers and practice fighting, Yutaka was tired. Now after a couple hours of rough housing and using techniques and attacks he’d never employed before he was ready to call it a day, his body ached so much.

He’d done well, however, all things considered. Shinya as Mokuseimon had a lot more energy and stamina, but Yutaka dominated in their skirmishes because he had actual fighting experience in Tae Kwon Do. But even so, the knowledge and instinct on how to use Tetsukomon’s swords came naturally as if he’d been fighting with the weapons for as long as he’d been fighting with his fists and kicks. When he broke his evolution his whole body protested against moving too much, however. Those maneuvers had taken their toll.

“Uh!” Shinya moaned, falling back on the ground, arms and legs flung out haphazardly. “Stick a fork in me, I’m done!”

Yutaka chuckled, falling back with a moan himself.

“I think you both have done enough for now,” Sorcermon said, sounding amused. “You may have the rest of the morning off. I’ll see you later this afternoon.

“Great,” Yutaka drawled, barely finding the energy to wave goodbye to the retreating back of their sensei.

“If I can move by then,” Shinya huffed.

“I’m sure you’ll find something to motivate you,” Yutaka said.

“Yeah right. I’m not moving for anything or anyone right now.”

Then Shinya’s stomach grumbled. Yutaka couldn’t hold back the laugh, tilting his head to the side in time to see Shinya’s face flush in embarrassment as he rolled onto his side and curled in on himself a bit.

“…Still not moving right now.”

“Sure,” Yutaka agreed amiably, unable to keep a smile off his face. Then his own stomach growled and he huffed. “Looks like we’re both hungry. Want to see what we can find to eat?”

“Can’t move,” Shinya sighed tiredly. “I think I’ll just lie here and starve.”

“Yeah… Not happening,” Yutaka huffed, forcing himself back up onto his legs. Oww… They felt like they were made of cinderblocks. “Come on, Shinya. We can get something to eat and then pass out back at our hut.”

Shinya whined, but offered his hand up. Yutaka rolled his eyes, grabbing the boy’s hand and pulled him up to his feet, shoulders and back muscles protesting the entire time.

“Come on, squirt,” Yutaka sighed. “Lets find some grub.”

The two of them trudged back into the main hub of Flame Terminal’s town and wandered about looking for the first thing that appeared appetizing, though the both of them passed up many food stalls in favor of finding a place that had a sitting area. They were relieved to come across a small restaurant owned by a flock of Biyomon.

“Sit down! Sit down!” their hosts cried happily. “Come in and have a seat!”

“Gladly,” Yutaka groaned as he and Shinya were seated at a table in the middle of the restaurant.

“Here’s our menu,” a Yokomon said, offering them a big leaf with writing on it. “Today’s special is the miso soup with yakisoba.”

“I think I’ll have that,” Shinya said, not even bothering to look at the menu.

“…Same,” Yutaka said, after looking as some of the other – and highly questionable – meal options. Miso soup and yakisoba was at least familiar in comparison to some of the bizarre sounding dishes like Mushroomon Mash Cakes and Yokomon’s Specialty Radish Salad and Greens.

The Yokomon took back the leaf-menu and… what? –Crawled? Puttered? Scrabbled? How do you even begin to describe how a tentacled radish looking plant creature moves? Anyways, she left to put in their order. (Was it even a she?)

Shinya was sprawled back in his chair, his neck craning occasionally to observe the other patrons in the restaurant. Many were looking back, equally as curious to see humans, as Yutaka and Shinya were to see the variety of Digimon.

A Biyomon served their meal and even though the dishes didn’t quite taste like they did back home on Earth, everything still tasted great. After eating, Yutaka tried to pay their server for the meal with the Digi-dollars Bokomon had given to them for spending money, but the Biyomon refused, saying it was an honor to serve the DigiDestined Warriors, especially the brother of the Fire Warrior, Takuya. Shinya became real silent after that exchange, but they accepted the courtesy of a free meal and returned to their hut. Yutaka watched Shinya worriedly as the boy curled up in his bedding and fell asleep. Yutaka settled next to the smaller boy in his own sleep space and dozed off as well. He awoke a little while later when he felt something latch onto his sleeve. Opening tired eyes he saw that Shinya had scooted closer and reached out in his sleep. Yutaka grasped the hand and slowly untangled it from his shirt, but the movement woke Shinya anyway.

“…Sorry,” Shinya mumbled, and started to scoot away.

Yutaka cursed himself and quickly tried to fix the boy’s misconceptions. He still held Shinya’s hand and tugged on it gently to halt the little boy’s movements. Shinya looked up curiously, watching Yutaka readjust his sleeping position so that he was lying on his side facing Shinya. Yutaka tugged on Shinya’s hand, this time encouraging the movement forward. Catching on quickly, Shinya crawled the remaining distance between them and snuggled into Yutaka’s arms, a hiccupped sob ripping through his throat as he buried his face into the older boy’s chest.

“Shh, Shinya,” Yutaka said, rubbing the boy’s back in an attempt to sooth him. “I’m right here. You’re not alone. We’re in this together.”

Shinya whimpered and shook in Yutaka’s embrace, but he took comfort in the other boy’s words and presence. Yutaka wasn’t trying to tell him that everything was going to be ok, because it wasn’t. Takuya was dead. Nothing anybody said could make that better. But Yutaka… he understood. He wasn’t trying to replace Takuya. At least it didn’t feel like that to Shinya. Yeah, Yutaka was acting like an older brother to Shinya, but he wasn’t actually trying to _be_ Takuya. He was there when Shinya needed him, but let Shinya have his space as well, and that’s what Shinya appreciated most. The space.

“Go to sleep,” Yutaka whispered in Shinya’s ear. “I’ve got you.”

And he did. Shinya felt himself relaxing instantly and fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

 

** The Adventure Digital World: Location: The Forest of Signs **

The forest was hot and humid as the sun reached it’s peak in the early afternoon. The metal of the random road signs throughout the forest flashed in the sunlight and the air around them shimmered in the heat. Yumi nearly burnt her arm when she stumbled into one.

“Uh,” Keisuke groaned, wiping his forehead. “It feels like we’re in Okinawa.”

“No kidding,” Saito huffed. “We’re not even in the desert yet.”

They’d found the Temple of the Digivice that morning after setting out from Primary Village, but Centarumon hadn’t been in, so instead of braving the maze inside the temple alone, the group had decided to go on to the Yokomon Village.

“I can’t believe that it’s so hot even in the shade,” Hiroaki sighed.

“We’ll be puddles before we make it out of here,” Haru chuckled.

“Well aren’t you chipper,” Yumi scowled at her friend as he strolled along beside her.

“At least there’s a breeze,” Haru pointed out.

“Not much of one,” Yumi grumbled as she undid the bun she had on top of her head and restacked the hair, pinning it in place with a few hair clips.

“Come on, Yumi, we should almost be there. There is only a five kilometer stretch of desert between the forest and the oasis where the Yokomon Village is,” Haru said, trying to be optimistic.

Hiroaki had to give Haru credit for looking on the bright side.

“Hey, do you hear that?” Saito suddenly asked, stopping in his tracks.

Hiroaki cocked his head to the side, trying to hear whatever it was that his friend had heard.

“A stream?” he asked, turning in the direction he thought he could hear the running water.

“Thank Kami, I’m thirsty,” Yumi huffed, following her husband as Saito took off.

“We could take this opportunity to refill the canteens,” Keisuke mused, following the other two.

Haru simply shrugged, an amiable smile on his face as he and Hiroaki brought up the rear.

“Yumi’s right,” Hiroaki said. “You are rather chipper, Haru.”

“Hmm?” Haru blinked before his smile widened. “I suppose. I’m just… happy. It’s nice to be back in the Digital World. I know that things are serious, what with your sons missing and everything, but… I missed this place. I’ve been dreaming of coming back ever since we returned home all those years ago and now that I’m back… it just feels so surreal. It’s like I’m dreaming and I don’t want to wake up.”

“I understand,” Hiroaki nodded, smiling as he watched Gabumon race ahead of them towards the stream Yumi, Saito and Keisuke were now splashing around in.

“Ah!” Yumi gasped with satisfaction, slashing water over her face, hair and warm skin. “ _Much_ better!”

“Most refreshing,” Keisuke agreed after filling his canteen and slashed a few handfuls of water in his hair and down the back of his neck.

“Alright guys, enough playing in the water,” Saito sighed after everyone had had their fill of water and had cooled off. “We should get moving.”

“What’s the hurry?” Haru asked. “It’s hot and that desert is going to give us all heat stroke if we head out during the heat of the day. “I say we hang around for a little while and wait for the sun to start setting. It’ll be cooler that way.”

“Sounds good to me,” Yumi sighed, soaking her feet in the water.

“We have been traveling practically non-stop since we arrived in this world,” Keisuke pointed out. “A couple hours break won’t hurt anything.”

“I suppose,” Saito said slowly, looking nervously over at Hiroaki.

“It’s fine, Saito,” Hiroaki smiled. “I’m no use to Matt and TK if I have a stroke trying to cross some damn desert.”

Everyone seemed to relax all at once now, and Hiroaki realized just how apprehensive they’d been over his answer. Hiroaki was touched by their concern, but even though he was worried about his sons, he wasn’t going to be irrational and stupid. Matt was practically an adult now. He’d watch over TK and TK was no pushover either. And they had their friends and a whole big group of others to watch their backs. His sons would be all right for a little while longer. Or so he hoped.

“Kyaa!”

Hiroaki was broken out of his musings when Yumi cried out in surprise and he saw something pink dart into the foliage.

“Are you alright?” Saito demanded.

“I’m fine,” Yumi reassured him. “He just startled me, that’s all.”

Haru was crouching down by the bush the pink thing had darted under.

“It’s ok, we won’t hurt you,” Haru smiled, voice soft and friendly. “Come on out. We didn’t mean to scare you.”

A pink head poked out, nose twitching in the air as it’s ribbon-like ears quivered. It was a Tokomon.

“Hey there, little guy,” Haru said, holding his hand out. “Don’t be afraid.”

The Tokomon sniffed Haru’s hand before coming out.

“Hi, I’m Haru,” Haru said, “and that’s Yumi and Saito, Keisuke, and Hiroaki. We’re just passing through. We didn’t mean to disturb you.”

“Are you humans?” the little Tokomon asked.

“We are,” Haru beamed. “Pleased to meet you, Tokomon.”

The Tokomon smiled and played with Haru in the stream water.

“I wonder what the little guy is doing out here all by himself,” Yumi mused.

“I wonder,” Saito agreed, watching their friend play with the Tokomon that reminded them so much of the partner that Haru had had as a child.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Will Alice, Kai and Minami find that Gekomon village? Will Yutaka and Shinya get used to fighting as in their Warrior forms? Will Hiroaki's friends find their Digimon partners? Find out next time on Digimon: Digital Monsters!

* * *


	17. Chapter 16: Making Progress

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously on Digimon: Digital Monsters...
> 
> Tamers World – Alice and Minami realize that the Gekomon village that they’re looking for is more than likely under the lake. Alice retests Henry’s old theory about breathing under water and the three humans, Gotsumon and Babamon all take a swim under the lake.
> 
> Frontier World – Shinya and Yutaka train hard, practicing transforming and fighting in their Human Spirit Evolutions. After a morning of training the pair take a lunch break and nap before their afternoon session.
> 
> Adventure World – On their way to the Yokomon Village, Hiroaki and co. travel through the Forest of Signs, suffering under the heat and humidity of the day. They discover a stream to refresh themselves and a young Tokomon while they wait for the sun to start setting before traveling across the desert that lies between the forest and the Yokomon Village.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I DO NOT OWN DIGIMON ADVENTURE, 02, TAMERS, FRONTIER OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS!

** Tamer Digital World: Location: Level 2 – Gekomon Lake **

Kai was having a blast. Being able to breath underwater?! It felt like a dream come true. He was sure he’d done this before in dreams many times, so to be able to do so for _real_ was just mind-blowing. It was too bad Gotsumon didn’t seem to like the situation. Even though he could breath underwater, he was still a rock, so Gotsumon didn’t have the buoyancy that the others had and walked along the lake floor below them.

“There!” Minami suddenly said, excitedly. “Up ahead!”

Kai looked up and saw a slight glow in the distance. It got brighter the closer they swam and after a while when they got close enough they were able to make out what looked like an underwater metropolis inside this great big bubble dome.

“Swim down!” Alice instructed, pointing to what looked like a gateway. Gotsumon was already approaching the “door” to the dome.

Just as they joined the rock Digimon on the lake bottom a small army of Gekomon surrounded them.

“Halt!” shouted the one Kai assumed was their leader. “Who goes there?”

“Peace, friends,” Babamon said, stepping to the front of their small group. “I am Babamon of tha Desert Level and I bring with me these humans who seek ta help us lift this lockdown imposed upon us.”

“You can’t be from Level 1!” shouted another Gekomon. “Travel between the levels has been made impossible _because_ of the lockdown.”

“Idiot,” the Gekomon next to him hissed. “Don’t you see that Gotsumon? His kind don’t live here. Where else could they have come from?”

“And they are humans, like the ones on our viewing bubbles. Humans have never come here,” another said.

“Have too,” yet another argued. “My cousin from the Milkshake Village said that some humans visited some months ago. That group of kids with the Guardromon that was taken to that other Digital World. Don’t yous remember? That Guardromon used ta be Andromon, self-proclaimed protector of this Level.”

“Oh, right,” said the third Gekomon. “I remember him now.”

“Quiet!” the first Gekomon snapped at his fellows before returning his attention to Babamon. “What do you want?”

“An audience with your leader,” Babamon said.

“Lord ShogunGekomon isn’t seeing anybody,” the Gekomon sighed. “Ever since the Fire Kid died, he hasn’t seen anybody.”

“He’ll see us,” Alice said confidently, stepping up beside Babamon. “Tell him new human children have arrived to help end the lockdown and seek to find a way to bring aid to the DigiDestined trapped in that other world.”

The Gekomon around them chattered to each other before their leader called for silence again. He reluctantly agreed to speak with their leader and led them through the gate to their home. It was like sliding through a thin wall made of gelatin and once inside, gravity seemed to reestablish itself and everyone was back to walking instead of swimming. Kai was blown away by what he saw. It was like walking into an old Japanese historical movie set, complete with a castle in the middle of the sprawling city. But instead of actors dressed in old Japanese clothing, there were tons of Gekomon and Tamamon bustling about.

“Welcome, guests,” the lead Gekomon shouted so that he could be herd over the noise that always seemed to fill a populated area. “To the great Gekomon City, home to our Level’s Lord, ShogunGekomon!”

Many of the Gekomon and Tamamon they passed in the streets stopped and stared, many of them whispering about “Humans” and “DigiDestined.” Beside him, Kai noticed that Minami looked nervous. But not Alice. Alice continued walking forward confidently beside Babamon. It took a good half hour, but finally they made it to the castle at the center of the Gekomon City. Once inside they had to wait for their guide to go seek an audience with Lord ShogunGekomon.

While they waited Tamamon served them food and drinks. Kai had never been so happy to see steamed cooked rice and fish. He was even happy to eat the salad and drink their tea, things he didn’t normally like to eat, but after eating the same rations for however long they’d been traveling in the Digital World, it was nice to eat something different. Minami seemed to relax after eating a good meal.

When the Gekomon returned he led them into what Kai could only describe as the “throne room” where an enormous frog Digimon with what looked like tuba horns peeking out over his shoulders was seated at the end of the room on a raised dais in a chair that looked more like it came from a European castle instead of a Japanese one.

“Bless my data, it’s true. Welcome!” the giant frog Digimon boomed. “Welcome human children. Seeing you here during times like this… It gives me hope. What can I do for you?”

Alice and Babamon stepped forward and explained what humans were doing in the Digital World and trying to accomplish. When they explained about the locks on each level and asked him where theirs might be, ShogunGekomon pursed his frog lips together in contemplation.

“There is nothing but swamp, forest, and water here on this level. It suits me and the Gekomon and Otamamon just fine so we’ve never thought to leave, but not many others like it here. Most other Digimon find this level unpleasant. We received few visitors on this level even before the Lockdown. Most ended up here on accident, getting caught up in the core beams and transported here. To leave, they left the same way they came.”

Kai suddenly had an idea, thinking back to where the lock was on the desert level.

“Is there a structure or something that might reach up to the next level?” He asked. “Perhaps a giant tree you can’t see the top of or something?”

Lord ShogunGekomon eyes widened in surprise. “Why yes,” he boomed.” There is the sacred tree in the swamp to the east of here.”

“That sounds like a good location to start,” Alice nodded at Kai.

Kai beamed. He’d figured something out before Alice. He made sure to savor the moment.

“I’ll have some Gekomon escort you to the Sacred Tree,” ShogunGekomon insisted. “You won’t be able to get near without them. The Gekomon charged with the protection of our Holy Site take their duty guarding it very seriously and will not allow anyone near it without my approval. I’ll send you with a message granting you permission to inspect the tree.”

“Thank you,” they all bowed.

Kai only hoped that his hunch was correct.

 

** Frontier Digital World: Location: Flame Terminal **

“I think I’m getting the hang of this,” Shinya beamed as Mokuseimon as he dodged another of Yutaka-Tetsukomon’s attacks, his quarterstaff twirling effortlessly in his hands and he countered a backhand strike from Tetsukomon’s blades.

“Good for you,” Tetsukomon grunted, launching another offensive and Mokuseimon danced away out of reach before retaliating with an attack of his own.

“Don’t get too cocky,” Sorcermon warned Shinya as the two new Warriors continued their afternoon sparing session. “Tomorrow instead of fighting each other, you’ll be up against skilled fighters. Then we’ll truly see how well you’ve got a handle on things.

“Oh joy,” Tetsukomon muttered, making Mokuseimon giggle.

“But you two are doing remarkably well,” Sorcermon admitted when he allowed them to break for the evening. “Especially considering that this is your first day using the Spirits. You still have a long way to go, however.”

Much like they had in the late morning, Yutaka and Shinya sank down to the ground in exhaustion.

“Looking good, my boys,” Bokumon said, approaching them with Neemon in tow.

“Very good!” Neemon added.

“Thanks,” the two tired boys sighed.

“Come on you two, up you get!” Bokomon said jubilantly. “Neemon and I are treating you to dinner! Then you can rest all you want. Tomorrow morning we’ll go see the new Warrior of Flame Shrine before your morning’s training.”

Shinya looked down at the ground at the mention of the Shrine to his brother and his role as the Warrior of Flame. It made his eyes sting. He felt as if he were being a big crybaby every time Takuya was mentioned or even vaguely referred to. But he did want to see the shine. He told himself that it would be an opportunity to get closure. He could properly morn Takuya there.

“…There won’t be morning training,” Sorcermon said. “But I’ll still expect you two to be here for your afternoon session.”

“You got it,” Yutaka nodded, grateful to the Digimon for his small gesture of understanding. “Come on, Shinya, before our stomachs start grumbling again.”

Shinya huffed, smiling a bit as he got to his feet.

Both humans were sore, but shuffled along behind Bokumon and Neemon as they were led to a bathhouse. Shinya and Yutaka were grateful that they were given a private bathing area and enjoyed a nice soak before getting out to join Bokumon and Neemon for dinner at a nice restaurant on the other end of town. The servers there were Palmon and Floramon, serving really good soups and salads. But again, the proprietor of the restaurant refused payment for their meals, saying what an honor it was to serve them.

“We better not get used to that,” Shinya chuckled as they left the restaurant. “I doubt we’ll be getting any free meals anywhere else.”

“No kidding,” Yutaka sighed, but he smiled.

The sun was going down now and everything in Flame Terminal was getting quiet as Digimon vendors returned to their homes or went out for dinner after a long day working. There was excited chatter, though, about the shrine to the Flame Warrior reopening tomorrow and speculation on what changes had been made, what the new statue would look like, and what kinds of flowers the Lillymon and Rosemon had brought to decorate the shrine with.

Shiny was silent the rest of the way back to their tiny little hut on the outskirts of town. He wasn’t trying to think of anything in particular and just wanted to sleep now. If he thought about anything, it was his training and transformations as Mokuseimon. They were happy thoughts at least. He felt as if he had more energy as a Digimon than he had as a human. And the thrill he got every time he transformed was exhilarating. The movements came flawlessly, and he was already an expert on wielding his quarterstaff. His archery, and knife fighting on the other hand still needed work.

And then there was Yutaka as Tetsukomon. His new friend and pseudo older brother was really good at combat and had already mastered fighting with his swords, but he wasn’t as fast as Mokuseimon. Yutaka was still struggling with some aspects of the transformation, meaning that his movements weren’t as synced or flowed as well as Shinya’s were as Mokuseimon. But then again, it was only their first day, but it felt so much longer than one simple day. It felt like two, but maybe that was because of the three-hour long nap they took after lunch.

Just as their little group was reaching their huts there was a commotion. Gazimon and Pagumon cried out in alarm, rushing this way and that, ducking into shelters and scrabbling up into the trees.

“The devil?” Bokomon grumped. “Just what is going on here?!”

Then an evil looking demon dog Digimon jumped onto their path and snarled.

“DigiDestined,” it growled. “I’ve finally found you.”

“It’s Cerberumon!” Bokomon cried, stumbling back into Yutaka’s legs. “He’s one bad dog! Takuya fought and saved us from him when he first arrived in the Digital World.”

“Oh no!” Neemon cried, ducking behind Shinya. “Do something!”

Shinya and Yutaka exchanged a determined look before pulling out their D-Tectors.

“EXECUTE! SPIRIT EVOLUTION!” They cried, changing into Tetsukomon and Mokuseimon.

“We have to lead him out of the village,” Tetsukomon said. “He could hurt someone.”

“Right,” Mokuseimon nodded. “Oi! Slobber breath! Come and get me!”

He cracked the end of his quarterstaff down on the Digimon dog’s hindquarters and took off running into the woods. Cerberumon howled with rage and charged after the Warrior of Wood. Tetsukomon left Bokomon and Neemon in charge of making sure the other Digimon were all right and ran to catch up with the chase, praying that Mokuseimon would be smart and keep out of biting range. Mokuseimon actually did one better, and led the dog Digimon to a clearing where there were no trees surrounding them, which turned out to be a good thing when Cerberumon spat out a line of fire that just barely missed Mokuseimon.

“Yikes!” he gasped. “I’ve heard of dog breath, but this is ridiculous.”

He tried to retaliate with arrows, but most of his shots missed their target. Damn, he really needed more practice in this area. To his relief, that’s when Tetsukomon arrived and knocked Cerberumon off his feet with a slash the enormous broadsword he carried on his back. Cerberumon didn’t go down easy though. He got right back up and charged, knocking the slower Tetsukomon off his feet and pinned him to the ground, letting loose another fire blast at point blank range.

“Yutaka!” Mokuseimon screamed, finding a surge of speed and ran full pelt at the enemy Digimon and knocked him away from Tetsukomon. He sighed in relief when he saw a very singed looking shield, but an otherwise uninjured Tetsukomon regaining his feet.

“Together!” Tetsukomon shouted.

Mokuseimon nodded, baiting their opponent with more sarcastic quips until he was nearly taken out. Cerberumon got too close to him and it was only with quick reflexes that Shinya managed to bring his quarterstaff up in time to stick it between the dog Digimon’s sharp teeth. While he had Cerberumon at a standstill Tetsukomon sheathed the broadsword and came at it from behind, running it through with the twin blades normally concealed along his sides.

 

** Adventure Digital World: The Forest of Signs **

The sun was finally going down so Hiroaki and his friends began their trek out of the forest and across the desert, their new traveling companion following them during the cooler twilight hours. The little Tokomon that Haru had befriended kept waddling after them, even after they started crossing the desert. When he began falling behind due to the slippery nature of the sand, Haru picked the little guy up, and set him up on his head like he’d done with his own partner all those years ago. Hiroaki felt that it would be best to leave the little guy in his home in the forest, but the two looked so happy that he didn’t have the heart to say no. Saito had only sighed and shrugged helplessly. Keisuke and Yumi didn’t say anything either, so the little Tokomon came along, chattering to Haru and Gabumon.

The sun had completely set and the moon was high in the sky by the time they reached the Yokomon village. The little flower Digimon greeted them with squeals of delight and treated them to a rice dinner and fresh spring water. Yumi looked around, trying to see if any of the Digimon might be her own partner, but none of them showed any sign of recognizing her. Like Haru had with the Tokomon, though, she was drawn to one of the Yokomon and played games with it and it’s fellows before they got ready to bed down for the night with plans to cross back over the desert in the early morning to avoid the heat of the day.

In the middle of the night, however, the ground began to shake.

“Earthquake?” Keisuke mumbled, propping himself up on his forearms.

“No!” Saito gasped, quickly getting to his feet. “We’ve got trouble!”

That woke the others up more and sent them scrabbling to their feet to better see what had Saito so worried. In the distance crossing the desert there was a herd of stampeding Boarmon, their flame bodies lighting up the night as they headed straight across the desert from the Forest of Signs and towards the Yokomon Village.

“Quick!” Yumi cried. “We need to get all of the Yokomon out of their path!”

Hiroaki looked around, trying to find a safe place to take the Yokomon.

“There!” Saito shouted, pointing to the Yokomon’s fresh water lake. “It’s looks to be just out of the Boarmon’s path!”

“Everyone head towards the lake!” Haru said, taking up the cry and it was a mad scramble out of the village.

They hurried the frightened Yokomon along, carrying some of them who were still sleepy and were starting to fall behind.

“Faster! They’re almost here!” Keisuke shrieked in alarm as the sound of the stampeding herd grew louder every passing minute.

The Yokomon were skirting the lake, heading around the shore as far as they could to get out of the path of the stampede. Hiroaki and his team were bringing up the rear of the group when one of the Yokomon that Yumi had been carrying – the one she’d played with all evening – and Tokomon who’d been riding on Haru’s head fell off.

“Ah!” Yumi and Haru gasped, quickly setting the rest of their riders down and ushered them after the others, before turning back around to rescue the other two.

“Yumi! Haru!” Saito cried.

Hiroaki could only watch in horror as the stampede reached his friends. Haru and Yumi snatched up Tokomon and the Yokomon and dodged the first Boarmon, trying to make it back to the others, but it was getting harder to keep dodging and moving forward at the same time when the full force of the herd came upon them.

“They’ll be trampled!” Saito cried, watching as his wife just barely missed getting sidelined by another Boarmon.

“Gabumon!” Hiroaki called out to his partner, digivice in hand.

“On it! GABUMON DIGIVOLVE TOO… HOUKOMON!”

The silver wolf Digimon wasted no time going after Haru and Yumi, tackling and blasting aside any Boarmon in his path. He was worried because he’d lost sight of the two humans.

Stuck in the middle of the stampede, Yumi and Haru did their best to keep dodging Boarmon, grateful that these Digimon didn’t run in tight formations. Yokomon and Tokomon looked up at the humans fearfully, awed by the bravery and compassion they showed. But Haru and Yumi were tiring and were eventually clipped by passing Boarmon and were sent sprawling, having to roll to avoid being trampled. Tokomon and Yokomon remained clutched tight in their grips feeling the human’s fear, but also their determination to keep them safe. They were willing to lay down their lives for them…

“Haru…”

“Yumi…”

Then the little Digimon started to glow and memories of these same humans came flooding back to them. Memories of times when the humans were younger. Life times ago for the Digimon…

“TOKOMON DIGIVOLVE TO… PATAMON!”

“YOKOMON DIGIVOLVE TO… BIYOMON!”

The newly digivolved and awaked partner Digimon stood guard over their fallen humans, firing attacks to divert the stampeding Boarmon. Houkomon was fighting to get to them, now that he could see where they were now, but there were just too many Boarmon between him and them. Yumi and Haru were still in danger of being trampled.

“Our attacks aren’t working! There’s too many,” Patamon cried. “We need to digivolve again.”

“Yumi!” Biyomon cried. “Lend me your strength!”

“Please, Haru!” Patamon cried.

Yumi and Haru stared at the Digimon. Their partners. It felt so unreal to find them so easily and without realizing it. But upon hearing their Digimon’s pleas, they snapped out of it, raising their digivices.

“BIYOMON DIGIVOLVE TOO… HIROTORIMON!”

“PATAMON DIGIVOLVE TOO… PIDDOMON!”

 

** Savers Digital World: Location: Unknown **

Masaru Daimon waited, growing impatient with every passing minute.

“I thought you said they’d be here soon Kentaurosmon,” he growled, looking up at the Royal Knight.

“They will be. Patience, Masaru,” the tall armored horse Knight said. “We are gathering from all across the Digital World. Some of us have a long journey to make.”

“It’s already been a couple of days,” Masaru grumbled.

Agumon, Lalamon, Gaomon, Piyomon, Falcomon, the black and white PawnChessmon and Kamemon, waited with him, watching.

Masaru started to pace. He’d learned a lot of things in the five years he’d spent transversing the Digital World, but patience wasn’t really something he’d improved upon much. He’d say that he’d learned patience and was less hot tempered and rash in his actions, but in times likes these, waiting only made him nervous. Time was something he doubted was on their side. If he and any of the other former members of DATS were going to be of any help to those children fighting in that other Digital World, then they needed to act fast, because who knew how much time they really had or how long it would take just to travel there. Transversing between the worlds could take seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, maybe even months! And he doubted that those kids had that long. He didn’t doubt the children’s bravery or their resolve. It was the strength of the enemy that gave him his doubts and worry. He’d eat Agumon’s cooking if Aiyokumon was the strongest member of that Zaigou group. No, he bet that she was one of their weakest members.

“Here they come,” Kentaurosmon reported.

Masaru’s head snapped up and spotted the other eight Royal Knights as they landed nearby before approaching.

“It’s about time,” Masaru grumbled under his breath.

“Ah, Daimon Masaru,” Omegamon said as he approached. “I thought we’d be hearing from you sooner or later. This is about the events happening elsewhere in the Multi-verse, I take it?”

“Multi-verse?” Masaru frowned. “The hell is a Multi-verse?”

“To put it simply,” Kentaurosmon interjected, “It’s a collection of other worlds, planet, digital, reality, dream, virtual, and what have you. As you are by now aware, there are more human and Digital Worlds in existence apart from our own.”

“And you wish to aid those chosen children trapped in that Digital World suffering injustice at the hands of an evil Digimon Lord,” Omegamon finished. “That is why you summoned us, correct?”

“Yes,” Masaru nodded grimly. “Is there a way you can send me and my friends back to the human world? Uh, _our_ human world, that is.”

“It is possible,” Craniummon mused. “ As this world’s protectors we have the ability to make contact with outside worlds, though it may be difficult.”

“Difficult how?” Masaru sighed. Couldn’t they just send him to Earth already?

“There is a darkness expanding over the Multi-verse,” Magnamon spoke up. “A powerful force of incredible influence.”

“To put it into terms your human brain can better understand,” Dynasmon huffed. “Something is blocking travel between worlds, making what you request very difficult. Travel between universes has been made impossible altogether.”

“But the influence this force has over our worlds doesn’t appear to be as severe as it might be for the worlds that those children come from,” Rhodonitemon added. “We just might be able to send you to your Earth, but the trip will be rough and we cannot control where it is you’ll end up.”

“I don’t care,” Masaru said. “If you can get us there, do it.”

“But to what end?” Dukemon asked. “Even if you were to regroup with your old human friends, how could you ever hope to reach that other Digital World?”

“My friends at DATS are smart,” Masaru grinned. “Tohma is a genius. Trust me. If DATS can find a way to make it to this Digital World, then with all of us, human and Digimon working together, I know we can find a way.”

The Royal Knights traded contemplating stares before nodding.

“I shall go with you,” Kentaurosmon stated. “You’ll need one of us present if you wish to return here.”

“You just want to see Captain Satsuma again,” Masaru grinned. “Can’t blame ya, though. We all want to see our old friends.”

The Royal Knights formed a circle around Masaru and his group of Digimon friends. They focused a good concentrated amount of their power and in a flash of bright light, sent them to the human world. When Masaru blinked his eyes open, he was greeted by the morning sun… and the Statue of Liberty in New York City.

~*~*~*~*~*~

So is the lock to the next level at the Sacred Tree like Kai thinks? How have Shinya and Yutaka faired after their first real fight as Warrior DigiDestined? Haru and Yumi seem to have found their old partners, but how will they fair with the stampeding Boarmon? And it looks like the Savers World has finally gotten into the mix! Will Masaru be able to find and put back together the old DATS team in time to give the other DigiDestined aid? Find out next time on Digimon: Digital monsters!

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's right, guys! Savers has officially joined the line up! I really need to re-watch that season, but I couldn't resist bringing it in now. Things are FINALLY starting to move in this fic action wise.


	18. Chapter 17: Discoveries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously on Digimon: Digital Monsters...
> 
> Tamers World – Kai, Minami, and Alice find a Gekomon city at the bottom of the lake and meet with the level’s lord, ShogunGekomon. The learn of a possible location for the world’s lock at a tree sacred to the Gekomon.
> 
> Frontier World – Shinya and Yutaka complete their afternoon training and spend an evening unwinding in the village until it’s time to turn in for the night. On their way back to their huts Cerberumon attacks and Shinya and Yutaka fight their first serious battle as the Warriors of Wood and Steel.
> 
> Adventure World – Hiroaki and co. end up bringing the little Tokomon along as they cross the desert that evening and make it to the Yokomon Village. Around midnight a herd of Boarmon comes stampeding across the desert. Yumi and Haru get caught up in the stampede protecting a Yokomon and their new Tokomon friend. It turns out that Yokomon and Tokomon were their partners reborn and they digivolve to protect Yumi and Haru.
> 
> Savers World – Masaru finally meets with the Royal Knights and is sent back to the human world… only he ends up in New York City.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man I am so sorry for the wait. I meant to have this up back in February, but this semester my classes were harder than expected and I didn't have as much time to write as I had anticipated. But here it is! First real update of the year! ...In March. Wow that's pathetic. TTwTT 
> 
> But whatever. Here is the latest chapter of Parent Worries! Hope you like it!
> 
> I DO NOT OWN DIGIMON ADVENTURE, 02, TAMERS, FRONTIER OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS!

** Adventure Digital World: Location: Yokomon Village **

“BIYOMON DIGIVOLVE TOOO… HIROTORIMON!”

Hirotorimon was a firebird Digimon like Birdramon; only with a big fan of crimson and gold tail feathers and a smaller beak like Parrotmon’s.

“PATAMON DIGIVOLVE TOOO… PIDDOMON!”

Piddomon looked like a maroon robed version of Angemon with only one pair of wings instead of three.

Yumi and Haru looked on in amazement as their old Digimon partners hovered over them, chasing off the stampeding Boarmon. Houkomon finally reached them and the two humans wasted no time climbing aboard his back so that they could finally get out of the stampede. Hirotorimon and Piddomon covered their retreat and made sure none of the remaining herd of Boarmon made it over to them. The herd’s stragglers were all that was left rampaging through Yokomon Village now and soon it was safe to return.

When all of the excitement was over, the three Digimon dedigivolved and Yumi and Haru hugged their old partners, happy to be reunited after all these years.

“I’ve missed you so much,” Yumi said, smiling through her tears as she hugged Biyomon.

“I missed you too! I thought I’d never see you again,” Biyomon sobbed. “Oh, Yumi!”

Haru and Patamon wasted no time on tears and just skipped on to catching up. Haru did most of that though because Patamon couldn’t remember much about his past life apart from his time with a younger Haru.

Hiroaki, Keisuke and Saito watched, happy and relieved that the other two appeared to be all right and happily reunited with their own partners.

“Well that was easy,” Saito laughed. “Two down, two more to go.”

“Yeah, but where to look?” Keisuke sighed. “I doubt Centarumon is back yet. We were only there yesterday.”

“I’m sure we’ll figure something out. We can see if there are any Digimon villages along the river,” Hiroaki suggested. “Maybe Patamon can tell us where he’d been staying as Tokomon before tagging along with us. I’m sure we’ll find your partners soon.”

“Maybe. They seem to be finding us instead,” Saito grinned before yawning.

Keisuke nodded.

Now that everything was peaceful again, everyone returned to the trampled village and tried to get a few more hours of sleep.

Later that morning before sun up, Hiroaki and his team set back out across the desert for the Forest of Signs. Patamon was more than happy to lead them back along the stream that branched off from the river, heading a kilometer upstream to where he’d been living before finding Haru again. There was supposedly a small colony of In-Training Digimon further into the jungle part of the forest north of the Temple of the Digivice. It took all morning to find the spot where the Digimon were supposed to be residing, but when they did, they noticed that there were clear signs of disturbance. It seemed that the stampede of Boarmon had been through there as well. Keisuke and Hiroaki were finding that the stampede might have actually originated in this area where the colony was supposed to be.

“Where could they have all gone?” Yumi wondered.

“Somewhere safe to avoid getting trampled, I hope,” Saito frowned, picking up what might have once been the top of a shelter of some kind.

“What do you think, Patamon?” Haru asked. “Where would they have gone?”

“Maybe deeper into the forest,” Patamon said. “Somewhere the Boarmon wouldn’t have been able to travel through.”

“Or at least in a direction that took them out of the Boarmon’s path,” Biyomon added.

Keisuke and Hiroaki nodded, looking around, trying to determine where that might be. There didn’t appear to be any safe way for tiny little In-Training level Digimon to cross the wide river in a hurry, so that direction was out at least. Patamon and Biyomon took to the treetops to see if they could at least find where the Boarmon had started to stampede.

“There!” Biyomon cried, leading the group through the trees to the edge of an open field. “This is where the stampede started. Something scared the Boarmon into the forest and sent them stampeding all the way through Yokomon Village.”

“Ok, so we know where the Boarmon came from and the path that they took, but what about the In-Training Digimon colony?” Yumi asked.

“Well, that leaves us with only one real direction, I think,” Keisuke said reasonably, picking up a stick and drew a map of sorts in the trampled earth. “The Boarmon started here and ran through the forest and the colony camp, past the Temple of the Digivice and through Yokomon Village. With the river on one side, and a stampeding herd cutting off any retreat south, the only reasonable conclusion is that any Digimon that weren’t trampled escaped up the mountain.”

The group nodded and resumed their search for the colony of In-Training Digimon. Patamon and Biyomon sometimes flew ahead to see if they could find anything, while everyone else looked for signs on the ground. It was Gabumon that eventually found their first clue. There was a disturbed patch of grass sheltered beneath a log that looked as if something – a lot of little somethings – had slept there. Recently.

“Good eye, Gabumon,” Hiroaki smiled. “Lets hope that they’re close by.

“Hey!” Yumi cried from further up ahead from their position. “Do you guys hear that?”

Everyone got quiet, trying to hear what Yumi had. None of the men could, but the Digimon apparently did.

“It sounds like splashing,” Patamon said, flying off Haru’s shoulder to join Biyomon and Yumi.

“Further up river,” Gabumon nodded, hurrying ahead.

Following their Digimon partners, the group of five humans finally discovered the colony of In-Training Digimon they’d been looking for playing in the shallow waters on the riverbank.

 

** Frontier Digital World: Location: Edge of the Forest Outside Flame Terminal  **

“Fractal Code Digitize!”

Shinya fell back, breaking out of his spirit evolution and breathing a huge sigh of relief when Cerberumon’s data unraveled into a ribbon. Yutaka absorbed the data into his D-Tector and ended his spirit evolution as well.

“Are you alright?” the older boy asked.

“Yeah,” Shinya groaned, falling back into the soft grass. “Boy am I wiped.”

“You and me both,” Yutaka moaned. “Not surprising considering how many times we spirit evolved today.”

“Good thing we have the morning off then, huh?” Shinya yawned.

Yutaka chuckled ruefully before helping Shinya back up onto his feet. “Come on. There are two beds waiting for us with our names on them.”

“Sounds good,” Shinya mumbled, stumbling alongside Yutaka.

It took them a good hour to trek back through the forest and return to their hut in Flame Terminal where they promptly passed out.

Early the next morning Bokomon had to wake them and hurry them along to the bathhouse and breakfast. When they were revived from their sleep and weariness it was a solemn trip to the recently finished shrine for the Warrior of Flame. Shinya was almost dreading having to enter. Yutaka’s solid and comforting presence was the only thing that was keeping him grounded and from crying again as they reached the entrance. The fence and gate opening around the shrine area was a vibrant red-orange, with strings of yellow and red flowers looped and draped over it.

Their group stopped just outside the gate’s closed doors and waited for them to open. There were several other Digimon up at this early hour whispering to each other, also waiting for their turn to see the renovated shrine and pay their respects to the fallen warrior.

Shinya bit his lip and stared apprehensively ahead.

“Are you going to be alright?” Yutaka asked softly, voice barely a whisper so that his words would only reach Shinya’s ears.

Shinya couldn’t answer verbally, not trusting his voice, so he nodded, trembling slightly. Yutaka gave Shinya’s shoulder a firm squeeze, staying there for a moment before his hand returned to his side.

Finally the doors to the gate opened and a Shamanmon greeted them, bowing low, and ushered their group inside first. Bokomon and Neemon went without hesitation. Shinya took a deep steadying breath, peeking up at Yutaka from beneath his bangs before proceeding forward, the older boy right behind him, a steadying and reassuring presence at his back.

The inside of the shrine gate was beautiful. The various flowers that Rosemon and Lillymon had brought with them from Breezy Village smelled heavenly in the morning air, swaying softly with the wind, looking like a carpet of fire as their petals shimmered in the sunlight. In the middle of this impressive fiery field of flowers was a path that led to a large four-piece sculpture made out of a black stone.

Agunimon made up the left half of the sculpture, legs braced apart, mouth open in a ferocious but silent yell, and fists punched together – embers and sparks shooting out where they met, as if he were about to let loose an attack. BurningGreymon was on the right; his likeness’ wings flared out while sparks and tongues of fire flickered out of joints in his stone armor and mouth. Behind them in the center was Aldamon, standing tall and imposing, arms stretched out in front of him between the forms of Agunimon and BurningGreymon, holding a plaque with the Warrior’s Symbol of Fire engraved in gold. Standing below Aldamon’s outstretched hands and between Agunimon and BurningGreymon in the center of the sculpture was Takuya; the human who had taken on these spirits’ forms and title as the Warrior of Flame. He stood tall and proud, his right hand raised high in the air holding his D-Tector. His mouth was carved into a warm smile that was somehow a confident smirk as well and so very Takuya.

Shinya felt his breath catch as he stared at the stone sculpture of his brother. The artist who’d carved this had done a fantastic job. He was struggling not to cry. He couldn’t bring himself to examine anything else in the shrine, or even any of the other pieces of the sculpture of the three Digimon his brother Spirit Evolved into.

He felt Yutaka’s arm wrap around his shoulders, giving him a comforting sort of side-hug. Shinya sucked in a deep breath and grounded himself again, wiping at his eyes furiously, finally turning away from the statue.

Digimon were soon invited in and there was a memorial service. Incense smelling like cinnamon was lit, and an eternal flame was set ablaze at the center of the memorial stature between the four magnificent sculptures of the beings that made up the Warrior of Flame. It was a work of unparallel craftsmanship. After that Shinya couldn’t bare to be there anymore so he and Yutaka slipped out – Bokomon and Neemon following them once they realized that their human companions were leaving.

After having lunch Yutaka and Shinya met with Sorcermon for their training session. They ran a few drills alone before a Birdramon and Togemon joined them. They spared together and Shinya threw himself into the training, learning Tetsukomon’s techniques and how to better his own, working off each other until they were almost in sync.

“Good, Shinya,” Sorcermon praised. “You’re already improving in your marksmanship.”

Shinya-as-Mokuseimon grinned, loosing another arrow and hitting the target Togemon presented him with almost dead-center and ducked, allowing Tetsukomon to sail clean over him and cleave the target in half with his broadsword. Mokuseimon then pivoted on his heel, switching opponents and targets with Tetsukomon and shot off a couple arrows at Birdramon. Togemon recoiled and Birdramon squawked in surprise, neither of them expecting the maneuvers.

Sorcermon laughed. “Very good you two! You’re getting the hang of things pretty fast, aren’t you? I think that’s enough for now. Take a break.”

Yutaka and Shinya nodded, ending their spirit evolutions.

“Well that was fun,” Yutaka huffed, plopping down tiredly.

“I’ll say,” Shinya grinned. “Your movements are getting faster.”

“I think I’m getting a better handle on spirit evolving,” Yutaka admitted. “Ever since we fought Cerberumon, I haven’t had trouble with the actual process of becoming a Digimon, but I’m still feeling some resistance to the transformations.”

“Resistance?” Shinya frowned. “What kind of resistance? Is the spirit rejecting you now or something?”

“No, nothing like that,” Yutaka frowned, trying to find the right words. “Like I said, I’m no longer having trouble with the actual transformations… it’s the movements. I feel like I’m being held back by something still. It’s like I’m wearing weighted clothes.”

“Maybe that’s just because you’re the Warrior of Steel now. Metal is heavy, so the spirit is heavy,” Shinya mused.

“…No,” Yutaka sighed, shaking his head, “I don’t think that’s it.”

Shinya looked over at Yutaka curiously, wondering what it was that was hindering the old boy.

 

** Tamers Digital World: Location: Level 2 – Gekomon Lake **

Alice could tell that Kai and Minami were excited when they set out that morning for the Sacred Tree with their Gekomon guard. After regrouping with Jijimon and those that had stayed behind, their expedition group set out. A fog had risen up over the past hour and now everyone marched huddled together so as not to get lost.

“Almost there,” their lead guide announced. “We should be there within the hour.”

“Good!” Jijimon barked. “My foots are killin’ me.”

“Yer foots are always killin’ ya,” Babamon retorted and they started another bickering match.

Alice was just happy that they might be able to move on from this level so soon. They’d certainly been progressing quickly since starting their mission. By her count, they’d been in the Digital World for roughly four days and this journey marked the start of the fifth. By that count that meant it had been about a week since Takato and the others had been taken to a Digital World in another dimension. Considering the circumstances, Alice figured that if this Sacred Tree of the Gekomon turned out to be the lock they were locking for then they’d be making really good time.

“Halt!”

Alice looked up and saw a guard of Gekomon emerging from the fog and advancing towards their group.

“State yer business,” the head guard croaked.

“Stand down,” their guide said to his fellow. “We bring a group of humans and Digimon on orders and with permission from his Lordship, ShogunGekomon, to inspect the Sacred Tree.”

The Gekomon guard considered these words as he accepted a slip of leaf-paper from the Gekomon guide. He gazed sternly at the three humans and the sizable group of Digimon that had come with them from Level 1.

“Very well,” the guard said, sounding reluctant. “Follow me.” He signaled something to his fellow guardsmon and they melted back into the fog.

“Thank you,” Alice, Babamon, and Jijimon said in unison with their guide and bowed low in thanks. The rest of their group was quick to say and do that same.

They followed the head guard Gekomon for a good kilometer or two before transversing beneath a large stone tori. Beyond the tori the fog disappeared and revealed to them a large swamp. In the middle of the swamp, a few kilometers out from the tori was this gigantic tree the size of a skyscraper that reached high up beyond the rest of the forest. Its large canopy served as a roof for the swamp and would have blocked any sunlight if the Digital World weren’t locked down in perpetual twilight. Fronds and vines hung low from it’s branches, dancing in the soft mist coming up from the swamp waters where floating lights that looked like fireflies flickered around, giving the place a sense of mysticism.

Alice and Minami let out awed breaths at the sight and Kai let out a low whistle.

“Where do we even start?” Minami asked softly.

Alice didn’t answer at first, eyeing the end tendrils of the tree’s roots that could be visible near the edge of the swamp.

“If the tree is where this level’s lock is, then it’s likely going to be close to the tree’s base like the rock was to Devimon’s Needle. It could be a knot in the tree or one of the roots,” Alice mused.

The others nodded in agreement. The Gekomon guard and their guide led them through a path in the swamp that was a combination of firm turf that sank slightly under their weight, and long winding sections of roots. Gotsumon and the Chuchidarumon had to be careful because of his density and mass. They nearly fell through sections of the turf and slipped on the moss that had accumulated on the tree’s roots. Kai was sure to stick close to Gotsumon during their trip, always quick and ready to pull his new Digimon friend back.

Finally, after a long trip, they finally made it to the base of the tree. They split up into small groups – each with a Gekomon guide – and began their search for the lock. Alice was with Jijimon and the guard Gekomon, examining the tree’s large truck, looking for any indication that there might be an opening. She fiddled with every knot and inside every shallow hollow she found, but was having no luck. Jijimon was gently tapping sections of the trunk with his staff – under the very watchful eye of the Gekomon – but wasn’t having any luck either.

“Kyaa!”

Alice looked up in time to see Minami loose her balance on one of the tree’s roots and fell head first into the water. Her Gekomon companion dived after her and Kai and Gotsumon were hurrying over with their Gekomon since they were the closest group. Then Gotsumon slipped on another moss patch and fell backwards and off the roots as well. Their Gekomon guide grabbed hold of the stone Digimon’s arm, but hadn’t anticipated the rock Digimon being heavier than him and they both fell into the swamp with a splash.

“Gotsumon!” Kai cried and looked torn about who he should go after.

That was when Minami resurfaced with her Gekomon, coughing and spluttering, and looking shaken, but relatively fine. Seeing this, Kai wasted no more time and dived under the water after Gotsumon. Alice picked her way as quickly and carefully down to the section of roots her friends had been investigating, reaching Minami the just as she hoisted herself back up onto the thick roots.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

Minami nodded shakily. “Just startled, that’s all. My foot slipped on something.” She then turned to her Gekomon companion and said, “Thank you for coming after me.”

“You’re welcome,” the Gekomon sighed, looking around at the others. “Where’s that other human friend of yours and the Gotsumon?”

“Gotsumon slipped and fell soon after you did,” Alice informed the two. “Kai dived after him once he saw that you were safe, Minami.”

Minami nodded, looking out at the swamp water, trying to find any indication of where their friends had fallen. Just then the tree started to groan, it’s roots quivering beneath all that stood upon them, sending ripples across the swamp waters.

“What’s happening?” Minami cried.

To the amazement of everyone there, a section of the tree’s trunk began to slide back like a door and a red pulsing light flicker from it. Cracks in the tree’s bark flashed, and lights ran beneath it like power flowing through cables and lighting up screens and grids. When the opening in the tree stopped, revealing a winding staircase similar to the one that had been inside of Devimon’s Needle the red lights flickered one last time before turning green and stayed on.

Before anyone could really comprehend what had just happened, Kai finally resurfaced with Gotsumon and their Gekomon companion. Gotsumon scrambled out of the water like a cat fleeing from a bath, muttering about something angrily to himself that made Kai and the Gekomon smile and snicker. Kai took in the changes to the Sacred Tree and grinned even more.

“Guess what we found under the water,” he said.

 

** Savers Human World: New York City, New York, America **

Masaru and his friends looked around. They were standing on a walkway by the sea. It was early in the morning and few people were up and about.

“Oh boy,” Masaru muttered. “We’re in America.”

“Is that a problem?” Lalamon asked.

“Maybe,” the red haired man sighed, looking around. “There’s going to be language issues for sure,” he groaned. “I was practically failing my English studies classes before going to the Digital World.”

It was a little daunting, being in a country that didn’t speak Japanese. For some reason, this hadn’t been an issue he’d faced in the Digital World and he’d explored a lot of its lands. Did it mean that anybody going to the Digital World automatically spoke the same language as Digimon? Or did that mean that in spite of all his travels, he’d only transversed the equivalent Japanese areas of the Digital World?

Putting those questions aside, Masaru squared his shoulders and set off down the sidewalk into the city. _Somebody_ in this internationally famous city had to speak Japanese. He decided that his best bet would be to try looking in the part of New York called Chinatown. The only question was… where was it?

“We won’t get anywhere just standing around,” Masaru declared to the others as they hurried to follow him.

“Right!” They all cried, equally determined.

It didn’t take long to reach a busy section of the city. Cars and yellow taxis were all moving and stopping along the grid of streets. Pedestrians were walking hurriedly down sidewalks and crosswalks, most either talking on their phones or texting. Masaru found it kind of funny that he was walking down the streets of New York City with eight Digimon trailing behind him and a ninth – a dedigivolved Kentaurosmon – resting on his shoulders, and no one was staring or paying any attention to them, as if it were normal for Digimon to be walking about with humans.

They walked for hours passing business buildings and stores until they stumbled upon Times Square. They gawked in amazement at all the billboards and buildings, but what captured their attention was the large iconic jumbotron. On it, and every other screen in the city, were various channels broadcasting what was occurring many worlds away. Right now on the main jumbotron it showed JP in a hospital room of some kind with Zoe, Tommy, Koji, Willace, Michael, and their partner Digimon, talking. He noted with pursed lips, the lightening bolt-shaped scar over JP’s left eye. On the large screen it was easy to see that the scarred eye was several shades lighter than the other eye and that the iris was white instead of black.

Just a little over a day ago, Masaru had watched the fight between the Warrior of Thunder and the Zaigou of Wrath. It had made waiting for the Royal Knights that much more frustrating. He didn’t like feeling so useless.

Though they couldn’t hear anything but snatches of dialogue from distant speakers closer to the screens, Masaru heard snatches of the Japanese he knew that JP and the others were speaking. He noted with interest that on the bottom of the screens, English subtitles were scrolling whenever someone spoke. He wondered how that worked. How this footage from a distant world was being transmitted to their world with – undoubtedly – different subtitles in other languages in foreign countries.

“…Digimon…?”

Masaru blinked, recognizing the word, and looked around to see who’d said it. He soon spotted a young boy – blond with green eyes wearing a Mario T-shirt. He was tugging on his mother’s hand, pointing at Masaru and his Digimon friends. Masaru had been wondering when someone would notice him and his strange companions. Now there were several people staring and giving them a wide berth. Many parents were holding back curious children, who were pointing at Masaru’s companions – some of them yelling “Agumon!” and “Biyomon!” – and the plasma screen.

“What do we do, Aniki?” Agumon asked, children squealing in delight and adults making surprised exclamations upon hearing him speak.

“Dunno,” Masaru admitted, looking around nervously, tensing a bit when he spotted a pair of police officers making their way through the crowd towards them. One officer – a rather tall and sizable man with blond hair – said something to him, but Masaru didn’t understand a word of it. Masaru shrugged helplessly. The officer tried saying something else to him, slowly, as if he were some retarded child.

“ **Sorry** ,” Masaru managed haltingly. “ **No… talk…English**.”

The blond officer huffed in frustration, looking at his partner – a short man with Brown hair and blue eyes. They exchanged a few words and talked into their walkie-talkies for a few minutes. Masaru looked around uneasily. Their presence had drawn a sizable crowd by now. There were children sitting on parent’s shoulders to see the Digimon.

Then there was a pressure shift. He’d experienced this sort of thing before years ago back when he was a DATS agent. Masaru and the Digimon all tensed, eyes roving the area. The officers had noticed their behavior and said something to him – probably asking what was wrong – but Masaru couldn’t think of how to answer. There was a rumble like thunder and Masaru looked up, noticing the air above them starting to form a fog.

“No way,” Masaru muttered before turning to the officers, yelling, “Evacuate the square! A Digimon is coming!”

The officers frowned in confusing, obviously not understanding him, but something about his tone must had gotten through to them because they started shouting orders at the crowd and into their walkies. Other officers had arrived by then and were urging the pedestrians to clear the area. The cloud of fog above was more substantial now and another roll of thunder sounded, static and electrical sparks flying about it. That got people moving in a hurry. Times Square was nearly vacant when bright rings of light appearing, flashing as a portal from the Digital World to the Human World suddenly opened and a Digimon fell to the ground, concrete cracking under the creature’s impact.

“Oh you have got to be kidding me,” Masaru gaped when he saw a Cockatrimon. “Agumon! Lets handle this. Everyone else, you’re back up. Make sure that he doesn’t leave this area and protect all of the people still in the square.”

“Right!” they cried, splitting up and spreading out to cover the scared and panicked citizens’ retreat.

“Lets go, Agumon!” Masaru yelled, charging at Cockatrimon.

“Right behind you, Aniki!” Agumon answered, right on his heels.

The two police officers shouted in alarm after them, but Masaru and Agumon didn’t break stride. Masaru jumped and rammed his fist right into Cockatrimon’s gut, his fist lighting up with his Digi-Soul upon impact.

“Ready?!” he shouted to Agumon.

“Yeah!”

“Digi-Soul Charge!” Masaru shouted, drawing out his old Digivice iC and slammed the flat of his hand infused with his Digi-Soul on top of the digivice.

“Agumon! Shinkaaa… GeoGreymon!”

Agumon’s form became a bright orb of light, blinding all that looked at it, and when it disappeared the tall form of GeoGreymon was revealed. In seconds GeoGreymon and Cockatrimon were locked together in battle, growling and squawking as they struggled to take each other down while the others helped the police hurry pedestrians to safety. Masaru and Agumon made sure that Cockatrimon’s movements were limited and locked in a wrestling match in the center of Time’s Square to minimize damage to the city and it’s people. Once everyone was clear, Masaru delivered a stunning blow that dazed Cockatrimon, allowing GeoGreymon to heft the giant chicken monster off its feet and fling it into the air.

“Mega Blast!” GeoGreymon roared as he launched a compressed burst of flame up at Cockatrimon. Cockatrimon gave a pained squawk as he was blasted to bits and reformed as a Digiegg. Masaru caught the Digiegg as if drifted to the ground and GeoGreymon reverted back to Agumon now that the danger had past.

“Was it just me, or was that a little too easy, Aniki?” Agumon asked.

“We’re just stronger than the last time we fought one of him,” Masaru shrugged. “That’s all. Great job restraining him, Agumon. We managed not to destroy any buildings this time.”

The yellow dino grinned.

Then there was a great roar and Masaru and Agumon startled, looking around wide-eyed for the source. It was the people. Crowds of them were coming back to Times Square cheering and applauding them. Windows in the surrounding buildings were thrown open and even more people were cheering and shouting, weaving down at them. It was a little overwhelming. Gaomon, Lalamon, and the others hurried back over to Masaru and Agumon, eyeing the cheering mob around them wearily. It was almost a relief when the police showed up again, ushering them through the crowd to the street where a few squad cars were waiting for them.

Masaru and the others hesitated for a second, unsure whether or not they were being arrested or being given a ride somewhere.

“It is all right. We are simply taking you to Headquarters.”

Masaru spun around and faced a new police officer standing next to the two he’d tried speaking with earlier. This one thankfully spoke Japanese even if it was a little stiff. It obviously wasn’t his primary language.

“…I need to get to Japan,” Masaru said. “DATS needs to be reinitiated.”

“American DATS agency has already been reinstated,” the officer informed him. “Director Hanson will want to speak with you. He can get you in contact with Director Satsuma.”

“ _Director_ Satsuma?” Masaru said in surprise. “Not Captain?”

“He’s been promoted. You’ve missed a lot these last five years, Daimon Masaru.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

What kind of things has Masaru missed? Why did Cockatrimon appear anyway? What is waiting for Alice, Minami and Kai on Level 3? What is inhibiting Yutaka from using the Spirit of Steel freely? Will Keisuke and Saito discover where their partners are? What is in store for all of these groups next? I guess you'll just have to wait and find out what happens next time on Digimon: Digital Monsters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow that only took forever to post. :P Sorry again, guys for taking so long to update. Classes have been really tough this semester, but graduation is in sight! Yay! I graduate May 9th, so hopefully I'll be able to update more after that. We'll see. :P
> 
> Hope you guys liked this chapter and that you leave a comment! Thanks for reading! :)


	19. Chapter 18: Gathering the Troops

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously on Digimon: Digital Monsters...
> 
> Adventure World: Hiroaki and his team find Yumi and Haru’s partners who digivolve and fight off the Boarmon. They then set back off and try to find the Digimon colony Tokomon had been staying with before finding them.
> 
> Frontier World: Shinya and Yutaka defeat Cerberumon and attend the reopening of the Fire Warrior Shrine. During a break in training, Yutaka says he feels as if something is weighing him down even though he doesn't struggle with executing his spirit evolution anymore.
> 
> Tamers World: Alice and co. travel to the Sacred Tree to look for the level's lock. Minami and Gotsumon fall into the surrounding swamp. A Gekomon helps Minami and Kai helps Gotsumon. The Sacred Tree suddenly reveals the stairway to the next level bnecause Kai and Gotsumon found the lock underwater.
> 
> Savers World: Masaru and co. come upon Times Square and run into police officers, but they can’t understand each other. Then Cockatrimon comes through and Agumon and Masaru have to fight it. After the fight an officer that can speak Japanese takes them to meet with the American DATS Director who can put them in touch with new Japanese DATS Director Satsuma Rentarou.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so... this chapter was supposed to be posted on August 1st last year after I updated this and my other Digimon stories on fanfiction.net, but for some reason I forgot to update my stories on here. Oops? Anyway, I was going to post chapter 19, but realized this wasn't posted yet, so... yeah. :P
> 
> This turned out to be a lot longer than I thought it would be. It's almost as long as an UGotD chapter! XD I guess these guys just wanted to get things done this chapter. I hope you all enjoy it.
> 
> I DO NOT OWN DIGIMON ADVENTURE, 02, TAMERS, FRONTIER, SAVERS, OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS!

******Adventure Digital World: Location: Infinity Mountain Forest**

Playing in the shallows on the river’s shore were two Tokomon, three Tsunomon, a couple Koromon, five Tanemon and four Motimon.

Patamon launched himself off of Haru’s shoulder towards the In-Training Digimon.

“Hey guys!”

“A Patamon?” one of the Tokomon said, looking up from where it was playing with a Tsunomon.

“You Digivolved!” cried the Tsunomon, recognizing who Patamon used to be. “When did that happen?!”

The other In-Training Digimon squealed excitedly and hurried over to see Patamon, not noticing Gabumon, Biyomon or the five humans until Patamon introduced them.

Keisuke and Saito looked at each other, both wondering what the chances were that their partner could be among the group.

For the remainder of the afternoon, the five adults found themselves playing with the young Digimon. Like when Yumi had unknowingly met her partner again for the first time, Saito and Keisuke found themselves bonding with one of the Koromon and Motimon more than the others in the group. They tried asking the young Digimon if they could remember meeting humans like them before, but the youngsters only wanted to play and ignored their prompting. It was as amusing for Haru, Yumi and Hiroaki as it was frustrating for Saito and Keisuke.

Nevertheless, as the sun went down on their fourth day of traveling together, the team of older DigiDestined bedded down for the night with the young Digimon. Considering that it was the Digital World, none of them should have been surprised to be woken up in the middle of the night again, but this time it wasn’t by something as obvious as a herd of rampaging Boarmon.

Hiroaki was the first to wake up. At first he’d thought that it was just the nightmare he’d been having, but something seemed amiss. Saito was next and his stirring woke up Yumi and Biyomon.

“What’s wrong?” she yawned.

“…I’m not sure,” Saito admitted. “Hiro?”

“…Something doesn’t feel right,” Hiroaki admitted, before shaking his partner awake. “Gabumon, wake up.”

“…Wha?” the wolf Digimon muttered. “What is it?”

“That’s what you and I are going to find out,” Hiroaki said, getting to his feet.

Gabumon scrambled up as well.

“I’ll come with you,” Saito said, also getting up.

“Sai!” Yumi cried after him softly, but he only flashed her a smile before following Hiroaki.

“What’s wrong?” Haru mumbled, rubbing his eyes as he sat up.

“Where are Sai and Hiro going?” Keisuke asked, also awake now due to all of the commotion.

“We’re just going to look around,” Saito said reassuringly. “Go back to sleep.”

“Not likely,” Keisuke yawned. “Not till you two come back at least.”

“Don’t worry,” Gabumon said. “I’ll keep them safe.”

Many of the In-Training Digimon were mumbling and shifting in their sleep, but only one of the Koromon woke up. No one saw him slip away after Saito and Hiroaki.

“So what do you reckon it is?” Saito asked Hiroaki as they began to patrol further out around where the others were camped for the night.

“I really don’t know,” Hiroaki sighed. “Something just… feels strange.”

“I feel it too,” Gabumon admitted. “It’s making my fur stand on end.”

“Your fur is a coat you can take on and off, not an actual part of your skin,” Hiroaki chuckled.

“Well, it’s still standing on end,” Gabumon huffed.

Saito smiled, listening to the two of them argue about Gabumon’s fur. Then he heard a soft giggle. Turning around, he spotted their little follower.

“What are you doing awake?” Saito asked, kneeling down in front of the Koromon.

“They’re silly,” Koromon said. “Where are you going?”

“We’re just taking a night stroll,” Saito said, not wanting to worry the little guy too badly.

“A stroll?”

“Yeah.” … It wasn’t like he could just leave the little guy there though. “Wanna come along?”

“Sure!”

Saito picked up the Koromon and hurried to catch up with Hiroaki and Gabumon. The two hadn’t noticed that he’d stopped. Just as Saito caught up to them, however, Hiroaki threw up a hand in the universal “hold up” gesture.

“What is it?” Gabumon whispered.

“Don’t you two hear that?”

Everyone was quiet for a moment, ears strained to pick up the sound.

“It sounds like humming,” Koromon said softly.

Hiroaki startled, only just now noticing the fourth member of their party.

“Humming?” Saito repeated, looking down at the little guy in his arms.

“He’s right,” Gabumon agreed. “Like a machine of some kind.”

“I thought so,” Hiroaki mused. “Can you tell where it’s coming from?”

“…There,” Gabumon and Koromon said as they pointed a claw and ear in the direction back down the mountain where they’d started searching for the In-Training Digimon.

Saito and Hiroaki traded apprehensive looks before nodding in a determined fashion. They followed the sound, it’s volume increasing as they got closer to whatever the disturbance was. Occasionally the humming would suddenly get louder before dying back down. It was that increase that must have awoken them back at camp.

Finally they reached the section of the river where the In-Training Digimon had been before the Boarmon had gone on a stampede. They traveled even further to where they had reckoned the herd had been before running from whatever it was that had spooked them. Down below in the middle of the plain was a black box of some kind. There were four Tankmon trawling around it while a Datamon worked on the box.

“The humming is coming from that black box,” Saito mused, watching as the humming picked up in pitch again.

The black box sparked and zapped the Datamon. The tiny machine Digimon swore, before getting back to trying to open the box.

“It looks like they’d finished digging it up recently,” Hiroaki said, pointing out the turned up dirt that the Tankmon were now flattening with their circling. “The ground wasn’t like this when we were here this morning.”

“Right. For some reason they waited for night to do it.” Saito frowned. “I don’t like the look of this, Hiro. Whatever’s in that box… I don’t think we want those Digimon to get it.”

“Do you want me to Digivolve?” Gabumon asked.

“As strong as you are, Gabu, I don’t think even you can take on five opponents at once,” Hiroaki said grimly. “We should go get the others.”

“Uh… I don’t think they’re going to give us a say in that matter,” Saito gasped, ducking down and dragging Hiroaki with him as one of the Tankmon launched a missile over their heads. The missile detonated behind them and sent them all tumbling down into the valley below.

“Right! Change of plans,” Hiroaki cried. “Gabumon! Digivolve.”

“GABUMON DIGIVOLVE TOOO… HOUKOMON!”

While Houkomon dealt with the Tankmon, Hiroaki, Saito and Koromon all scrambled for cover away from stray shots. One got a little too close to Saito, causing him to trip and fall, dropping Koromon in the process.

“Saito!” the little guy cried. He suddenly felt a surge of energy and found himself digivolving into Agumon. A well-aimed Pepper Breath attack detonated several blasts before they came even close to the man he was protecting.

“Agumon?!” Saito cried, both excited to see his partner and incredulous that finding him had turned out to be so easy.

“Are you alright?” Agumon asked.

“Fine,” Saito said, grinning down at his old friend. “It’s good to see you, buddy.”

“It’s good to see you too, now that I remember who you are,” Agumon laughed before turning serious. “It looks like Houkomon could use some help. You and Hiroaki get out of here. I’ll take care of these clowns.”

“No arguments here,” Saito said, pulling out his digivice that was now reactivated. It’s screen shone brightly for a moment and Agumon found himself digivolving again.

“AGUMON DIGIVOLVE TOOO… GREYMON X!”

A Greymon slightly bigger than what Tai Kamiya’s Agumon Digivolved into appeared with sharper looking horns and jaws that let out a loud roar before charging at the Tankmon to back up Houkomon who was struggling to out run all of the fire power coming from the four enemy Digimon.

“Greymon X, huh?” Hiroaki said when Saito caught up. “That’s new. He used to be a normal Greymon before.”

“Well it’s been a thousand-odd digi-years since we last saw each other,” Saito grunted. “I’m sure a lot’s happened.”

“I wonder if this change affects just this DigiVolution, or the rest of his DigiVolution line,” Hiroaki mused.

“Run now, theorize later!” Saito huffed.

The two human men ran up the embankment to return to where they’d been before tumbling down into the valley. Once they’d regained the high ground they turned back to watch the fight.

“Mega Blast!” Greymon X roared, taking out a Tankmon before swiping another away with his tail. Houkomon was still darting around, drawing the fire away from their DigiDestined partners.

While Greymon X and Houkomon were preoccupied with the Tankmon, however, the Datamon was trying to get away with the black box. It was kind of pathetic really, because the box was twice the size of the Datamon and was obviously heavy.

“Houkomon!” Hiroaki shouted. “Get Datamon!”

His cry only got the Tankmon to rally, however, and neither Greymon X nor Houkomon were able to disengage and go after the smaller Digimon.

“We’ll get him!”

Hiroaki and Saito jumped; surprised to see Yumi, Haru, and Keisuke coming towards them while Hirotorimon flew over their heads and soared over to Datamon with Piddomon right behind her.

“Are you two alright?!” Yumi demanded once she and the others joined Hiroaki and Saito.

“We’re fine,” Saito said, smiling reassuringly.

“Is that Greymon?” Haru asked. “He looks a little different than what I remember.”

“He’s Greymon X,” Hiroaki explained. “Apparently his DigiVolution line has changed slightly.”

“Just glad he’s on our side,” Haru laughed. “He looks pretty mean.”

“So one of the Koromon was your partner after all,” Keisuke mused.

“Yup!” Saito grinned. “Now we just have to find yours and we’re good.”

“You’re a little behind the times, dear,” Yumi huffed, pointing down next to Keisuke where there was a tired looking Tentomon. “While you two were off exploring, a Bakumon showed up and started attacking us. It shot off a Nightmare Syndrome attack at Keisuke and one of the Motimon digivolved into Tentomon to protect him.”

“Poor Tento took the brunt of the blast,” Keisuke said, looking down at his partner.

“I’m fine, Kei,” Tentomon sighed. “But those nightmare attacks sure take it out of you.”

“Patamon and Biyomon Digivolved after that and managed to pin him down,” Yumi said as she started digging in her pack.

“I can’t believe a Bakumon would attack In-Training Digimon,” Saito said, sharing a worried look with Hiroaki. “They’re normally good Digimon feeding on bad dreams to give the dreamer good ones, or has that changed too since our time?”

“I think he was after us,” Haru said. “He didn’t really attack the In-Training Digimon.”

“He wasn’t himself,” Yumi added, pulling a dark ring out of her bag. “He ran away scared the moment Piddomon blasted this off his arm. It was wrapped on top of his holy ring.”

“What is that?” Saito asked.

“I have no idea,” Keisuke said, frowning. “It’s some kind of mind-control device.”

“Wait a minute. Let me see,” Hiroaki said, taking the ring from Yumi. “I think I’ve heard about something like this. It was something that Matt talked about during the time he needed me to take him and some of his friends on a camping trip to cover for TK and his friends going to the Digital World. Gennai would know.”

“Great,” Yumi huffed. “We can go meet back up with him now that everyone’s partner has been found.”

“I don’t mean to interrupt,” Tentomon tittered, “but something seems to be happening down there.”

Everyone turned their attention back down below to the battle going on. All of the Tankmon were down for the count, but Datamon was putting up quite the fight. Of course, Datamon was an Ultimate level Digimon and all of the others were only at the Champion level, but they were stronger than your average Champion level Digimon. As four high grade Champions against one average Ultimate, they were dead even.

“They need my help,” Tentomon said, taking off before Keisuke could stop him. “TENTOMON DIGIVOLVE TOOO… KUWAGAMON!”

The newly digivolved Kuwagamon cut clean through one of Datamon’s arms with his surprise attack. That made the Ultimate level Digimon very angry, but with only one arm, it was harder for him to fend off the other Digimon and they took him down in no time, which was great because Kuwagamon dedigivolved the moment he finished that first and last attack.

 

**Tamers Digital World: Location: Entrance to Level 3**

It had taken them a few hours to climb their way up to the third level, but they managed to reach it without incident. Most of their Gekomon guard had returned to their village, but a few, including the lead guide, had remained with them with their ShogunGekomon’s blessing.

“Wow,” Kai sighed, looking back at their group as they bedded down for a rest period. “It looks like we’re amassing an army.”

“In a way, we are,” Alice mused. “All of the Digimon here want to help Takato and the others fighting in that other world. I imagine that if we succeed in reaching the Sovereign and find a way to reach that other Digital World, these Digimon will go to their aid.

Kai and Minami nodded.

“I wonder how everyone’s doing over there,” Minami mused as she unrolled her sleeping bag.

“Last thing any of us saw was everyone traveling to Himizu City,” Alice said. She was currently using the communicator Yamaki had given her and was typing up a report. “Hopefully they’ve made it by now and are figuring out their next move.”

“And staying alive,” Kai said. “Very important, that.”

Minami giggled and Alice shook her head.

“Speaking of important things and figuring out our next move,” Gatsumon grumbled from his spot next to Kai, “what are we expecting from this level?”

“It’s hard to say, isn’t it?” Minami mused, looking around her.

There wasn’t much to see. It was just a stretch of cave walls. They wouldn’t have known that they’d reached the next level if it weren’t for the fact that the stairs had stopped and the ground had become level.

“We’ll do what we’ve done the last two times,” Alice reasoned. “We’ll try to find this level’s inhabitants and see if we can find some location of significant meaning that might lead us to the next level.”

“And that’ll be loads of fun,” Gotsumon huffed. “What if this place is anything like where those other kids ended up when they arrived in that other world? This could be a maze. What if we end up traveling in circles?”

“We’ll mark the walls,” Alice suggested. “That way we’ll know where we’ve been and can figure things out from there.”

Gotsumon grumbled some more before falling asleep. Kai chuckled to himself before following the rock Digimon’s example. Minami smiled at the pair before scooting over next to Alice.

“Have any of your reports been going through?” Minami asked.

“I think so,” Alice said, frowning at the device. “Never when I first type them up, but every report I have stored as pending delivery delivers itself every time we unlock a level. See?” she said, angling the device so that the other girl could see the device’s mailbox. “It’s empty now apart from the one I just wrote, but before we started climbing up to this level I had two reports waiting to be sent. The three I wrote before that were sent after we unlocked Devimon’s Needle.”

“So if, hypothetically, we were to return to those levels we shouldn’t have any problem sending messages back to our world,” Minami mused.

“Hypothetically,” Alice agreed. “I don’t know about you, but I have no desire to backtrack just to test that theory.”

“Me either,” Minami giggled. “Granted, going down levels would be a lot easier on us then going up has been.”

Alice chuckled, shrugging. “What? You don’t like working your calf and thigh muscles?”

Minami tried to muffle her laughter with her pillow, shaking her head.

Alice smiled at her friend, gently pushing her over so that she sprawled across their sleeping spaces. But then she thought she heard something from further down the stretch of cave ahead of them. She was on edge in an instant, body tensing as she tried to figure out what the sound was.

“Alice?” Minami said softly, noticing her friend’s tension.

“Shh!” Alice hissed, remaining quiet for a moment before shaking Kai awake. “Kai! Wake up.”

“Huh? Wha?” the boy mumbled, jolting a way, his feet kicking out and hitting Gotsumon.

“Hey! What’s the big idea?” the rock Digimon growled only to be shushed by the girls.

“What is it?” Kai yawned.

“Don’t you hear that?” Alice asked.

Kai and Gotsumon were a lot more alert now, trying to hear what Alice had. It was a low growling sound that made the hair on the their arms stand up on end.

“I’m going to wake Jijimon and Babamon,” Minami said as quietly as she could before hurrying away.

Before she even got more than a few steps, there was a lot of loud barking and snarling. Minami shrieked, bolting for the old mega Digimon who were already rousing with everyone else.

“Rock Fist!” Gotsumon cried as he fired his rock attacks at the pack of Cerberumon that were attacking.

The several Chuchidarumon, Chrysalimon, and the lone Infermon that had come with them rallied to defend Alice and Kai and the smaller Gekomon. Jijimon and Babamon were moving into action as well, encouraging the human children to stay behind them.

“Gotsumon!” Kai cried when one of the Cerberumon knocked the rock Digimon back. He broke through the ranks of fighting Digimon to get to his friend. Alice and Minami called out to him, telling him to come back, but the boy didn’t listen.

“Hang in there, buddy,” Kai grunted as he hauled the rock Digimon to his feet.

“Kai?” Gotsumon wheezed in his winded state. “Why…?”

“Please,” Kai said with a grin. “Like I was going to leave a friend behind?”

Suddenly a bright light shone from above and floated down to hover in front of them.

“Is that what I think it is?!” Kai gasped, reaching out and taking hold of the light, which dimmed at his touch and formed into a D-Power just like Takato’s but blue all over with grey bits. There was also a blue card resting below it in his hand as well.

“Well I’ll be,” Kai breathed. “I’m a Tamer… and you’re my partner Gotsumon!”

“Awesome!” Gatsumon cheered, feeling energized by the light the Digivice had come in. “…What does that mean, exactly?”

“It means we’re not out of this fight. Are you ready to digivolve?” Kai asked, grin beaming from ear to ear as he held up the blue card.

“Digivolve?!” Gotsumon cried. “Hell yeah! What are ya waitin’ for?!”

Kai swiped the card like he’d seen Takato and his friends do. “Digi-modify! DigiVolution activate!”

“Wow!” Gotsumon cried as he lit up with the light of digivolving. “Gotsumon digivolve toooo… Monochromon!”

Kai gaped in awe at the sight. The tiny rock dude that had barely reached his elbow was now this great big dinosaur that looked like it was built like a tank. He wasn’t sure what kind of dinosaur he was supposed to be, but it looked like it was related to a Triceratops, only without the twin horns on the forehead. It could be related to a rhino… but Kai didn’t really care. Monochromon looked cool!

Monochromon let out a loud roar before charging at a Cerberumon that was harassing the Gekomon, the long horn on its nose impaling its side and shattering it to bits of data, which he absorbed.

“Volcanic Strike!” he cried before spitting out balls of lava at more of the dog Digimon that were attacking.

The battle continued for a while, but eventually the team of Level 1 & 2 Digimon defeated the Cerberumon and sent the remains of the pack running with their tails tucked between their legs.

“Dude, that was awesome!” Kai yelled, running up to Monochromon after the chaos of battle died down.

“Felt awesome,” Monochromon said in his low growl.

“Man, you and I are going to make a great team!” Kai cried as he hugged Monochromon around the neck.

“So Kai and Gotsumon are partners now, huh?” Babamon mused as she and Jijimon approached Minami and Alice.

“Looks like it,” Minami said, smiling as she watched the pair chatter excitedly.

“It’s not really surprising,” Alice mused. “Kai and Gotsumon have practically been inseparable since they met. I would have been more surprised if Kai had some other Digimon for a partner.”

“True,” Minami laughed. “They make a great team.”

“And at least one of us has a partner now,” Alice sighed.

“I’m sure you and I will find partners of our own before our time here is over,” Minami said, smiling reassuringly at her friend.

“…There’s only one Digimon I want for a partner,” Alice said, her expression going sad, “and he’s gone.”

Minami studied her friend’s mournful expression. The blond had told her about Dobermon. It was ironic that they were attacked by Cerberumon, because according to Dobermon’s DigiVolution line, that’s what his Ultimate level DigiVolution was. Seeing her friend’s grieving expression reminded her of Labramon.

“…Yeah. Me too,” Minami whispered.

 

**Frontier Digital World: Location: Flame Terminal**

Shinya and Yutaka were settled down for the night sleeping when they sensed something. At first they couldn’t be sure what had awoken them in the middle of the night so they went back to sleep only to wake up again a little while later. After another failed attempt to fall back asleep, the two decided to take a little walk around the village. It was quiet and no one was out and about. They wandered past the little houses like Bokumon and Neemon’s and through the empty main streets of the shops until they found themselves back at the locked gate to Takuya’s shrine.

Shinya stared at the glow of the fires that could be seen over the gate before turning and walking away. Yutaka wordlessly followed him until they were at the Trailmon station. A Trailmon was sleeping next to his platform, so they walked as silently as possible past him to the back of the terminal were the tracks left the ground of the cliff and continued into the sky where the terminal that led to the human world was supposed to be.

They both stared off into the sky where the tracks became no longer visible and wondered about finding a way home to Earth.

“Need a lift?”

Both boys startled, staring wide-eyed at a black Trailmon pulling a single passenger carriage.

“Where to?” the boys wondered.

“The human world of course,” Trailmon said.

The two boys shared a surprised look before nodding. Maybe this was what they woke up for. They both just had this feeling that they were supposed to board this Trailmon.

Once aboard, both boys stared out the windows in awe as the strange Trailmon pulled away from the station and rolled along the tracks into the sky. It was like a surreal dream, watching the ground fall away into the night sky.

“Yutaka?” Shinya whispered. “Are we dreaming?”

“If we are,” Yutaka mused. “It’s a nice dream.”

Shinya nodded.

For a while the boys didn’t say anything more, just watched the clouds and the Digital World’s three moons float through the sky. Then everything suddenly went black. Shinya cried out in surprise, jumping in his seat back into Yutaka. The older boy’s arms wrapped around his middle to steady him and prevent him from falling to the floor. Shinya startled in surprise. The arms around him didn’t feel like Yutaka’s. When the lights came back on, Shinya stared around at the terminal they were pulling into and he remembered it as the one that had been under the Shibuya Train Station.  This is where he, Yutaka and all of their parents had boarded the train that took them to the Digital World. Were they really back?

“…Shinya?”

“Yes?” Shinya said, looking back behind him and found that he wasn’t looking at Yutaka anymore. Instead it was a Veemon, like that Davis kid’s Digimon, only this guy was silver in color instead of blue.

“Yu…taka?” Shinya gasped.

“You’re a Digimon!” they both exclaimed. “Huh?”

Shinya looked down at himself and saw that his arms were covered in feathers. He rushed to the first reflective surface he could find in the train car. He looked like a bird. He was covered from head to toe in black, white and reddish-brown feathers and had a long black beak instead of a mouth.

“Wha!” he squawked, flapping his winged arms in alarm.

“Shinya, calm down,” the Veemon said with Yutaka’s voice.

“Calm?! CALM?! Taka, I’m a bird!” Shinya cried.

“Kitsutsukimon, apparently,” Yutaka mused.

Shinya turned around and saw that Yutaka was using his D-Tector to identify him. Shinya did the same, finding his own D-Tector somewhere within all his feathers on his person where his pants used to be. He didn't even want to know where Yutaka had found his. His D-Tector analyzed Yutaka and identified him as Silver Veemon.

“Weird.” Shinya said. “Why are we like this?”

Yutaka-now-Silver Veemon shrugged, tucking his D-Tector away behind his back. Again, Shinya didn’t want to know where that was. In comparison to his new bird form, Silver Veemon had no cloths or pockets to store anything in. He could only assume that Yutaka had stashed his D-Tector in one of his back pants’ pockets before being turned into a Digimon.

“Here’s your stop,” the Trailmon reported as they pulled up to the center platform at the terminal.

“What do we do?” Kitsutsukimon asked.

“…We go up,” Silver Veemon said, exiting their carriage and stepping onto the platform.

They entered the elevator and rode up to the main level of the station. Like it was in the Digital World, it was the middle of the night and the station was closed. It was a little spooky, actually. The two boys-turned-Digimon hurried out of the station and onto the equally empty streets. According to the clock at the station it was a little after 3 in the morning.

“…What now?” Kitsutsukimon asked.

“We could walk around, I guess,” Silver Veemon said, heading off away from the main shopping district and towards the residential areas.

Kitsutsukimon didn’t question the direction and followed his older friend’s lead. A half hour later they were at a local park Shinya remembered seeing Takuya play a lot of his soccer games at. At the edge of the field was another small shrine for Takuya. They’d seen a few of them as they passed by schools and other local areas. Shinya wasn’t sure how he felt about them.

As they left, they passed an old fountain that hadn’t been turned on in years. Silver Veemon paused, his ears twitching when he heard a soft sound.

“What is it?” Kitsutsukimon asked.

“I’m not sure,” Silver Veemon mused. “If I didn’t know any better…it sounds like crying.”

The two turned back towards the fountain and peeked over the tall lip and saw what looked like a girl sitting inside, curled up in a fetal position.

“Miss? Are you okay?” Yutaka asked.

The girl’s body stiffened before her head tilted, peeking up at them through long wavy black hair with bright blue eyes. She stared. They stared back. Then she let out a loud shriek and they scrambled back, alarmed. Kitsutsukimon found himself falling onto his back, his stick-like bird legs flailing in the air. Oww… he’d landed on his tail feathers. Silver Veemon was still on his feet, but his eyes were wide in alarm, his tail pointing straight up in the air like an exclamation point.

“You-you-you’re Digimon!” the girl cried, pointing at them as she stood up in the fountain.

Now that she wasn’t curled in on herself, the two boy-Digimon realized that she was older than she’d initially appeared. She was a young teenager that looked like she was around 13-14 years old.

“…Uh… kind of?” Kitsutsukimon stammered.

“We are part time, anyway,” Silver Veemon said. “I’m Yutaka Himi and that’s Shinya Kanbara. Though I guess right now, we’re Silver Veemon and Kitsutsukimon right now.”

“Kanbara…” the girl said, staring at the bird Digimon. “Like Takuya Kanbara?”

“…He was my older brother,” Kitsutsukimon said softly, his eyes catching on the mini-shrine by the soccer field.

“His brother…” the girl repeated before looking at Silver Veemon. “And you’re…”

“The older brother of Tommy Himi,” Silver Veemon said. “He’s the Ice Warrior DigiDestined.”

“…According to the papers your families vanished the same day that the TVs started airing that Digital World stuff,” the girl said, climbing out of the fountain to crouch at eye-level with them.

“I guess we did kind of vanish,” Silver Veemon mused. “All of the families of the DigiDestined from our world were told that if we wanted to see them again, we needed to come to the Digital World.”

“Is that how you were turned into Digimon?” the girl asked.

“No, we were still human there,” Silver Veemon said, frowning slightly. “We’re not really sure how we became Digimon. We were riding a Tailmon back here to our world, but when we got here we were like this.”

The girl stared at them curiously, but before she could say anything more a loud male voice suddenly called out.

“Umi!”

“Riku?!” the girl – Umi apparently – gasped as she jumped to her feet and an older teenage boy raced towards them, only to come up short when he spotted Silver Veemon and Kitsutsukimon.

“Friend of yours, Miss?” Silver Veemon asked.

“Huh?” Umi asked, looking down at him before blushing, realizing that she’d never introduced herself to them. “Oh! Uh, no. He’s my big brother, Rikuto. And I’m Umi. Umi Takahara.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Kitsutsukimon and Silver Veemon said, bowing. The young man did look a lot like Umi. His hair was a little long and had the same wave, but his eyes held a greenish tint to them instead of the pure bright blue she had.

“Ah…” Poor Rikuto didn’t look like he knew what to say to them so he turned to his sister. “Umi, what are you doing out this late? If Eri and Kisuke find out you’ve snuck out again…”

“What?” Umi snapped, glaring at him. “They’ll ground me? Again? They are going to send us back to the orphanage anyway, Riku!”

“Umi!” Rikuto said, grabbing her by the shoulders, shaking her a little. “They are the third set of foster parents we’ve gone through in the last five years. I’m almost 18 now! What’s going to happen once I’m too old to remain in the foster system with you?!”

Umi bit her lip and looked away. “I know. That’s why… I’m running away.”

Rikuto sighed and pulled her into a hug. “Where are our bags, Umi? You knew I’d come after you.”

“You always do,” the girl said, smiling, before pointing to the fountain.

Rikuto sighed, shot the Digimon an apprehensive look, and headed towards the fountain Umi had been hiding in.

“You’re running away?” Kitsutsukimon asked.

“ _We_ are running away,” Umi said, watching her brother.

“Where are you going to go?” Silver Veemon asked.

“Who cares?” Umi huffed. “As long as we’re together.”

Kitsutsukimon and Silver Veemon hummed, trading concerned looks before a keening sound could be heard coming from their D-Tectors. Kitsutsukimon drew his out and so did Silver Veemon.

“What’s it mean?” Kitsutsukimon asked.

“…Something isn’t right,” Silver Veemon said before a Digimon profile appeared.

“…Flymon,” they read before there was a sudden buzzing noise in the air.

Umi suddenly screamed and when the two boy-Digimon looked up they saw a bee looking Digimon like the one that had attacked the chamber where TK, Matt, Koji, Rika and Kari ended up in when they first arrived in that other Digital World.

“Get down!” they cried out to the brother and sister as the insect Digimon flew overhead.

“How did he get here?!” Kitsutsukimon asked.

“Who cares?!” Silver Veemon said. “We have to take him out before he hurts someone.”

Their D-Tectors glowed and they found themselves changing into their Warrior Spirit forms.

“Mokuseimon, get Umi and Rikuto clear!” a newly Digivolved Tetsukomon said as he drew his broadsword.

The Warrior of Wood nodded, gathering Umi up in his arms before rushing over to Haru who’d taken cover in the empty fountain.

“Stay down,” Mokuseimon said, setting her down next to her brother before stringing his bow, nocking an arrow, and joining Tetsukomon in fighting Flymon.

The two worked well together, but the advantage was with the flying Digimon.

“We have to ground it somehow,” Tetsukomon said before getting blasted back by a lightning attack.

The Steel Warrior cried out in pain as his metal armor vibrated with the attack.

“Yutaka!” Mokuseimon cried, darting over to the older Warrior and assumed a protective crouch.

Umi and Rikuto watched, eyes wide with fear and awe as they watched the fight.

“We have to help them,” Umi whispered.

“How?” Rikuto demanded. “They’re Digimon. We’re only human.”

“So are they,” Umi said. “They are the brothers of Takuya and Tommy, The Warrior DigiDestined of Fire and Ice.”

Haru frowned, lips pursed as he stared at the wasp-like Digimon before looking back at the fountain.

“If we can get the fountain working,” the older brother mused. “We can spray it. Maybe Flymon is weak against water, like bees are.”

“Riku, you’re brilliant!” Umi beamed, turning her attention to the body of the fountain too, finding the box that she knew used to power the fountain’s spray.

The siblings tinkered with it a moment and after a while, a trickle of water began to bubble out of the old pipes, but just because the fountain’s pipes were open didn’t mean that water was being supplied to it. Umi pointed Rikuto in the direction of the spigot that would direct water to the old fountain. Rikuto had to break cover from the safety of the fountain’s bowl, but managed to creep over to the water house where all of the park’s water hydraulics were maintained. It didn’t take him long to find the wheel that would turn on the water for the fountain. With a grunt, he managed to turn the rusty wheel that released water to the fountain.

Back at the fountain Umi squealed happily when water came gushing out. She’d clogged all but one of the fountain’s spouts and with her hands, tried to aim the steady spray at the insect Digimon, hitting it in the side as it came at Mokuseimon again. Flymon screeched with rage at the unexpected spray and changed course, flying right for the girl, only to get hit in the side of the head by a large rock.

“Stay away from my sister!” Rikuto cried from where he stood in front of the water house, a pipe in one hand and another rock in the other. Flymon changed targets once again and zoomed towards the older human. Rikuto gulped, but didn’t panic. He hit the rock at the insect with his pipe, but Flymon dodged and was soon upon him.

“RIKU!” Umi cried, her hand stretched out for him. Rikuto threw up his arms, bracing for impact.

Two things happened then.

The moment Rikuto moved his arms up to cover his face, a wall of earth rose up before him, shielding him from Flymon. Flymon hit the wall, only to get hit again from behind by a powerful blast of water, flowing violently from the fountain following the trajectory of Umi’s reaching arm.

Flymon collapsed momentarily, twitching until Mokuseimon’s arrows pined it to the ground and Tetsukomon ran it through with his broadsword. Flymon shattered into Digital bits and the two Warriors found themselves staring at the very stunned siblings.

“Did…we do that?” Umi asked, looking down at her dripping wet hands.

  

**Savers Human World: Location: American DATS HQ – Washington D.C.**

After the fight in Times Square, Masaru and his Digimon friends found themselves on a plane to Washington D.C. where they were taken to the American DATS Headquarters. They were introduced to Director Hanson who in turn got them in touch with Captain… _Director_ Satsuma. Plans were made for Masaru and co. to leave in the early morning and board a C-17 from the Marine Corps Base in Quantico for Yokosuka Naval Base, which was in Tokyo Bay and only an hour away by car from DATS HQ.

Masaru had been happy to speak with Satsuma again, and so was Kudamon. It appeared that while Masaru had been busy trying to return home to Japan, Satsuma had reestablished DATS and got the old team back together, including Ikuto, Masaru’s father, Suguru, and his little sister, Chika. They would all be waiting for him when he arrived.

Tohma, Yoshino, Ikuto, Chika, Director Satsuma, Miki Kurosaki, Megumi Shirakawa, Hiroshi Yushima, …his father. He’d get to see them all soon.

“Aniki,” Agumon grumbled from where he was curled up on the other half of the bed they were sleeping on in the barracks room they’d arranged for Masaru and his friends to stay in during the short time they were in Quantico. “You should rest. We leave in a few hours.”

“I know Agumon,” Masaru said, smiling down at his best friend. “But it’s been years… I wonder how much has changed, how much they’ve changed… how much _I_ have changed.”

“It’ll be alright,” Lalamon sighed from her nearby perch. “We’ll all be together again. That’s what matters.”

“…Right,” Masaru said, closing his eyes and willing himself to fall asleep.

In the early hours of dawn, Masaru and his Digimon friends awoke, refreshed themselves, and were escorted to the airfield where they boarded the C-17 bound for Japan. They had a long flight ahead of them.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Oh wow. Things are happening in all worlds. What is in that box Datamon was protecting from Hiroaki and friends? Will Minami and Alice get their own partners even though they miss Labramon and Dobermon? What are Shinya and Yutaka going to do now with Umi and Haru? And what's waiting for Masaru back in Japan? Looks like we'll have to find out next time on Digimon: Digital Monsters!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap this was a long chapter! Sorry that the Savers part was so short, but compared to the other groups, nothing was going on accept waiting for a plane to catch... and I wanted to end this chapter.
> 
> So what did you think?!
> 
> I think it's safe to say (because it's already kind of obvious) that Rikuto and Umi are going to be our new Warriors of Water and Earth. I debated a lot about what to do with the other Warrior positions. Some people wondered if I was going to use a couple of the characters from that Frontier episode about the other 4 kids that had come and stayed in the digital world that used to bully Tommy, but there were four of them and only 2 slots. Though it would have been a no brain-er to cast the girl as the water warrior, there would have been three boys to choose from for the Earth warrior. In Drowning Memories it was easy to fit Davis and Jun into the roles I needed filled, but here I didn't want to poll from other worlds so... I ended up making OCs. So far everyone has liked my OC charater Mai Kurosaki in UGotD, so I thought I'd risk making OCs for the two open slots in the Warrior DigiDestined's roster. I have big plans for Umi and Rikuto, so I hope you guys like them. :)
> 
> When I originally posted this chapter on FF.net, Rikuto's name was originally Haru. But it wasn't until after I posted this chapter there that I realized I already had a Haru with Hiroaki. Oops! So when I started writing chapter 19, I changed the name to Rikuto. :P
> 
> Thanks for reading (and most of all for waiting) and I hope you have a great day! Please leave a comment!


	20. Chapter 19: Getting Somewhere

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously on Digimon: Digital Monsters...
> 
> Adventure World - they find the In-Training Digimon and during the night Hiroaki and Saito discover a Datamon and four Tankmon trying to open a black box. They're discovered and Koromon digivolves into Agumon and again into Greymon X to help fight the Tankmon. Yumi, Haru and Keisuke arrived just in time with their digivolved partners to help finished off the Tankmon and defeat Datamon.
> 
> Tamers World - the hodgepodge group arrive on the level 3 but are attacked by a pack of Cerberumon. Gatsumon gets gets into trouble and Kai runs to his aid. A D-Power materializes and Gotsumon Digivolves into Monochromon and helps chase off the pack of Digimon dogs.
> 
> Frontier World - in the middle of the night Yutaka and Shinya board Dark Trailmon's car and return to the human world, only when they arrive, they're digimon. They explore Shibuya until they run into Umi and Rikuto. A Flymon attacks them and when it aims at Rikuto, the teen somehow throws up an earth wall and Umi blasts water at it, stunning it enough for Mokuseimon and Tetsukomon to defeat it for good.
> 
> Savers World - Masaru and co. find themselves in DC and board a flight that will take them back to Japan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First official new post of the new year! Wait, I actually posted a Digimon Chapter BEFORE August first?! Miracles! Actually, I'd hoped to post this chapter a few weeks ago in January. :P
> 
> This chapter ended up getting pretty long. I was able to write the first two parts pretty quickly, but I felt that I had to reread UGotD (which took a while because 50 CHAPTERS!) to remind myself where I was going in the other story and to determine how much time has passed. Events in this chapter happen about 9 days after the DigiDestined arrive in the other Digital World. The real reason I had to reread UGotD was to count days (because for some reason I only did that for the first 20 chapters). Did you guys know that where chapter 50 of UGotD stands, it's been 30-31 days (a month) since the start of their adventure?! I really need to pick up the pace with this story if we're only on Day 9, 19 chapters in. O_O
> 
> But whatever. Here is the latest chapter of Parent Worries! Hope you like it!
> 
> I DO NOT OWN DIGIMON ADVENTURE, 02, TAMERS, FRONTIER OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS!

**** **Tamers Digital World: Location: Level 3**

Having already been rudely awakened by the Cerberumon pack, the hodgepodge group of humans and Digimon packed up and began their travels for the day. The cave tunnels seemed to go on endlessly and no other Digimon had been seen since the attack. Gotsumon was still Monochromon, so he took to carrying any of the smaller Digimon that needed to rest. Even hours later, Kai and Monochromon were still talking excitedly about becoming Tamer and Partner.

“I’m happy for Kai,” Alice told Minami, “but I wish they’d stop talking about it so much.”

“I think he’s just excited because this gives him a reason to go after Takato if we can find a way to send help to that other world,” Minami said softly. “I know that he felt left out of the action last summer when Takato came to visit him in Okinawa. Now that he’s a Tamer with a partner of his own he can be right in the thick of things with Takato.”

“Fool,” Alice sighed. “He shouldn’t be so excited to get mixed up in a fight. Takato and the others are essentially at war in that other world. Someone’s already died and more are going to get hurt.”

“Kai is just a person of action,” Minami said in defence of the boy. “He hates sitting on his hands waiting for news. For something to happen. I knew the moment you asked us if we wanted to come on this venture with you that he’d say yes. He felt so helpless watching what was happening to Takato. It’s not that he wants to get mixed up in any fights, Alice. He just wants to help bring Takato back home safely. For cousins who live so far apart, Kai and Takato are very close.”

Alice hummed, watching the boy in question help haul a couple of tired Gekomon aboard Monochromon’s back. “And you? She asked.

“Pardon?” Minami said, blinking in surprise.

“Why did you choose to come along?” Alice asked.

Minami bit her lip, hugging herself a little.

“At first…it was to keep Kai company. I also wanted to help Takato and the others, but Kai is the main reason I said yes.”

“You like him,” Alice mused. She’d had a feeling her companions were a little more than friends, or at least on their way to becoming more.

Minami blushed.

“Go on,” Alice said, keeping her eyes ahead of them and not on the nervous girl beside her.

“…I do like him, and I think he likes me back,” Minami said with a small smile. “We haven’t really said anything or gone on anything I think counts as an official date, but… Anyway, I knew that if he was going to say yes, than I’d go with him. And I think he knew that too. But if I’m really being honest… the real reason I said I’d come…”

“Yes?”

“It’s silly,” Minami sighed.

“Try me,” Alice said.

“ … How much do you know about what happened in Okinawa last summer?” Minami asked.

“Not much,” Alice admitted. “There’s very little information on it even though it happened in our world. It was before my uncle came to join Hypnos.”

“Well… basically an evil Digimon called Mephistomon tried to use my Dad’s creation, the V-Pet, to disable worldwide communications and allow Digimon to cross over freely into the real world. The only way to stop Mephistomon lay in the coding of the original V-Pet, which turned out to be Seasarmon, a Digimon that had appeared when I was in trouble. I never had a D-Power like the others, but I felt like he was my Digimon partner. He reverted to Labramon when he got hurt too badly during the fight. He ended up sacrificing himself to release the code inside of him that allowed Takato and the others to destroy Mephistomon.”

“You came to see if he’s here,” Alice said.

“I told you it’s silly,” Minami laughed sadly. “He’s gone. When their data is used up or absorbed, Digimon don’t come back.”

“It’s not silly at all,” Alice said softly. “I’m here for a very similar reason.”

“…Dobermon?” Minami asked, remembering what she’d heard about her friend’s previous involvement with Digimon.

“He was my Seasarmon,” Alice said, nodding.

The two girls became very quiet and somber after that. Kai noticed their glum faces and decided that they needed cheering up. He slid off Monochromon’s back and let his partner know that he was going to walk with his friends for a little bit.

“Hey gal pals!” he said brightly, slipping between them and throwing his arms around their shoulders. “Why the sad faces? I know these caves are dark and gloomy and appear to go on _forever_ , but I’m sure we’ll find the next lock soon enough.”

Minami smiled slightly but still looked bummed and Alice only huffed. Now that wouldn’t do.

“ _I can show you the world. Shining, shimmering, splendid. Tell me, princess, now when did you last let your heart decide~?_ ” Kai sang, grinning at the two girls who were looking at him in bewilderment. “ _I can open your eyes. Take you wonder by wonder. Over sideways and under on a magic carpet ride. A whole new world~! A new fantastic point of view. No one to tell us no, or where to go, or say we're only dreaming…_ ”

“ _A whole new world~!_ ” Minami and Alice joined in. Minami was smiling for real now, no doubt thinking that Kai was being an idiot again, but he was a charming idiot that could make her smile at least. Alice was pretending to be annoyed by looking away from him, but Kai could see that she was smiling. And she was singing too, so he knew that she wasn’t as annoyed with him as she was pretending to be. “ _A dazzling place I never knew. But when I'm way up here, it's crystal clear that now I'm in a whole new world with you_.”

The three of them continued singing, finishing the song together and then started up another one, running through the gamut of all of the popular Disney songs that they could remember, though Alice shot down any and all attempts made to sing Hakuna Matata.

By the time they ran out of songs to sing, Kai was quite pleased with himself. Whatever had been depressing the girls was no longer bothering them and they were smiling, even if they probably thought that he was a major dork for knowing as many Disney songs as he did. It had passed the time wonderfully as well and the Digimon had enjoyed listening to the humans sing the silly songs, many of them quick to pick up the chorus of several of them and joined in for a line or two. The Gekomon’s croaky voices made for an… interesting accompaniment.

It was the group’s singing that had drawn out a group of Drimogemon and Meteormon.  

“Thank goodness we’ve finally found some Digimon that live on this level,” Minami sighed.

“What are you lot doing here?” a Meteormon asked.

“Trying not to get eaten by Cerberumon,” Kai joked.

“We’re trying to find our way to the next level,” Alice spoke up and proceeded to tell the group of cave dwelling Digimon their purpose for coming to the Digital World.

The Drimogemon and Meteormon conferred with one another and Jijimon and Babamon about where they thought the lock for the next level might be. Their luck was holding so far, it seemed, because the Drimogemon and Meteormon were very familiar with the tunnels that made up the 3rd level and thought that the lock for their level might be in the city they were from. The group was very happy to find out that the entire level wasn’t all caves and gratefully followed their new guides.

Another hour later the group was relieved to walk out into open air of the twilight that existed on every level. The dark core could be seen high above them with two beams of light moving in the distance, most likely touching down on the first and second levels.

The city the Drimogemon and Meteormon brought them to was a series of pueblo dwellings lining the round open space before them. It was like they were in a bowl. The opening from the cave that they’d come out of was on the lowermost level of the city. Looking up, Kai, Alice and Minami could see all sorts of Digimon. Gazimon, Gotsumon, Armadillomon, Hawkmon, Patamon, Biyomon, Agumon, Veemon, Tentomon, Togemon, and all sorts of other Digimon that might thrive in a cavern like Level were there. It was by far the most diversely populated level the others had seen thus far.

The Drimogemon didn’t leave the caves, so that left the Meteormon as their guides. Their group picked up quite a few gawkers as they made their way to the center of the city where a Digimon that looked a lot like a machine armored Leomon was talking with some Cerberumon. Likely the group that had attacked the travelers earlier.

“It’s them!” one of the Cerberumon cried when it spotted the humans and their company. “GrapLeomon, those are the invaders we encountered.”

“Invaders?” Kai scoffed. “Where do they get off calling us invaders? We weren’t doing anything wrong.”

“Then how did you get here?” barked a different Cerberumon. “We’ve never seen the likes of any of you before. Not since the Great Lockdown.”

“We traveled up here from Levels 1 and 2,” Alice said calmly.

“Impossible!” cried another Cerberumon. “No one had been able to travel between the Levels since the core went dark and the sky got stuck changing between day and night.”

“But it’s true,” Minami said. “My friends and I came to this world to help you reverse the Lockdown so that we might make it to see the Digimon Sovereign.”

“And why would you want to do that?” the first Cerberumon demanded.

“Enough!” GrapLeomon said. “Can’t you dogs see that those three are human children? Their kind are not from our world. Clearly there is more to their story. Would it happen to have anything to do with what’s happening in that other Digital World?”

“Yes,” Alice said, speaking up once more. “Those are our friends. It was after they were taken that communication between our world and your Sovereign was severed. We were sent to help lift this Lockdown you’re under and to find the Sovereign and seek their help in sending aid to the other world.”

“I see. I suggest we discuss this further inside,” GrapLeomon said, gesturing to the dwelling behind him. “Cerberumon, gather the chiefs.”

“Yessir,” the dog digimon grumbled before racing off to do as they were ordered.

 

**Frontier Human World: Location: Shibuya Park**

“What… just happened?” Rikuto gasped, staring at the wall of earth that had sprung up in front of him.

“I’m not sure what just happened,” Tetsukomon grunted as he strapped his broadsword into place on his back, “but-”

At that moment two screeching sounds came from Umi and Rikuto’s pockets. The two startled teens pulled out their cellphones in time to see them turn into D-Tectors like the ones Yutaka and Shinya had begun to carry around after becoming the new Warriors of Steel and Wood.

“I think this means that you two have been chosen to become the new Warriors of Water and Earth,” Mokuseimon said.

“What?!” gasped the siblings.

“You mean we get to be like you?” Umi asked, sounding excited.

“Now wait a minute, Umi,” Rikuto said, looking worried. “Shouldn’t we think about this first?”

Umi scowled, but Tetsukomon spoke up before she could say anything.

“You definitely should,” the Warrior of Steel said. “Yes, you two have been chosen, but that doesn’t mean that you have to accept. You can choose to say no.”

“Why would we?” Umi asked, looking bewildered. “This seems like the chance of a lifetime.”

“How?” Rikuto huffed.

“ _Think_ about it, Riku!” Umi cried. “If we go with them to the Digital World, then we won’t have to worry about Child Services. They can’t take us away and separate us if we aren’t even in this world.”

“Your brother is right to be cautious,” Tetsukomon said sternly. “I can’t say that Shinya and I have really come across anything too dangerous so far in our Digital World, but if you accept the responsibility of becoming the Warriors of Water and Earth, then know that you’re signing up for war.”

“War?” Rikuto repeated, looking concerned and a little pale.

“Taka means what is going on in the other Digital World that you’ve seen on TV,” Mokuseimon said softly. “We both agreed to become Warrior DigiDestined because we want to help the others trapped in that Digital World. It’s going to be very dangerous. My brother died there…”

Umi seemed a little less enthusiastic after that.

“Don’t get me wrong though,” Mokuseimon said, smiling. “I’d - _we’d_ \- be really happy and excited to have you guys with us. We came back to our world to find two people to join us as the Warriors of Water and Earth, but even though I’m sure our time together will seem like some big adventure at first… to war is where we’re going. Yutaka and I are in this to find his brother and to prevent anyone else from dying like my brother did. We have a reason to fight. To want to do this. You don’t.”

“And we understand that,” Tetsukomon said softly. “I didn’t want to do this when I was first offered the chance to have my own Warrior Spirit Partner. I was scared. I still am at times. But my brother and Shinya need me, so I chose to become this,” he said, gesturing to his armored Digimon form. “This needs to be your decision - your choice - and not one that should be made lightly.”

Umi and Rikuto looked at each other. Rikuto looked nervous and worried, but Umi looked determined.

“Umi,” Rikuto started to say, but his sister shook her head.

“I hear what they’re saying, but I still want to go. I… I don't think I could handle going back into the system. Soon you’ll be eighteen and then we won’t be able to be together. At least this way we can stay together, and we won’t be alone. Right?” She looked at Tetsukomon when she said that last bit.

“Shinya and I will be with you every step of the way,” Tetsukomon promised.

“And so will Tommy and the others when we find them,” Mokuseimon added. “And they’ve been close friends ever since they started their own adventures. Brothers and sisters in arms and all that.”

“Well, Riku?” Umi asked, looking at her brother.

Rikuto didn’t look comfortable with the idea, but he nodded. “Fine. We’ll go.”

“You don’t seem so sure,” Tetuskomon said.

“I’m not. But I’m not going to let Umi go off alone,” Rikuto said, voice firm. “We’ve been through alot together since our parents died and I don’t blame her for wanting to get away from here and child services. I don’t expect you two to know what that’s like, but Umi is all I have. Where she goes, I go.”

“Fair enough,” Tetsukomon said, smiling sadly. “In that case, we should all get going. People are going to be waking up soon and we need to get to Shibuya Station before it opens for the morning.”

“Right,” Mokuseimon huffed before turning to their new companions. “Are you two ready?”

“One sec,” Umi said before she raced off for the fountain again, grabbing two slightly damp duffle bags before rejoining them. She handed one to Rikuto. “Now we are,” she beamed.

“Then let’s go,” Tetsukomon said, scooping up Rikuto while Mokuseimon picked up Umi.

“Hey!” the siblings squawked.

“It’s quicker this way,” Mokuseimon laughed. “Trust us.”

The two Human-Digimon then took off with their companions, racing through the slowly waking homes in Shibuya. It was nearing five in the morning when they managed to sneak into the station. The elevator doors opened for them without needing to be called. Mokuseimon and Tetsukomon put Umi and Rikuto down before entering the elevator.

“This is it,” Tetsukomon said. “There’s no turning back from here.”

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Mokuseimon asked.

Umi and Rikuto shared another look. Umi nervously shifted her duffel bag's strap on her shoulder and Rikuto swallowed. Both looked around at the dark empty station and then at the two armored Warrior DigiDestined in the brightly lit elevator.

“Together?” Umi whispered.

Rikuto smiled softly, reaching out to take his sister’s hand. “Together. Always.”

“Us against the world,” she said, grinning. “Well… Us and them against the world now, I suppose.”

Rikuto laughed, shaking his head. Both turned and after taking a deep breath, stepped aboard the elevator with their new friends. The elevator’s doors closed and it began to descend. Dark Trailmon was waiting for them, it’s passenger car doors open.

The ride back to the Digital World was nice and smooth. Yutaka and Shinya knew the moment that they passed into the Digital World. The car’s lights blacked out and they felt their forms shift back into their original human ones. Then they were in the sky, the Digital World’s rising sun showing signs of appearing over the horizon, casting everything in a nice soft orange-pink glow.

“Welcome to the Digital World,” Yutaka and Shinya said, grinning at the amazed looks on Umi and Rikuto’s faces.

“You’re human!” Rikuto cried.

“Well duh,” Shinya snorted. “We always have been.”

“Shinya, don’t be rude,” Yutaka scolded before addressing their surprised companions. “For some reason we were turned into Digimon when we arrived back on Earth. Now that we’re back in the Digital World, we’re back to normal.”

“How does that work?” Umi asked.

“No idea,” Yutaka sighed. “We’re still pretty new to this thing ourselves. We’ve only been DigiDestined for a few days.”

“So we’re not that far behind you learning curve wise,” Rikuto mused.

“Right! So we’ll all learn things as we go together!” Shinya laughed.

The rest of the ride back to Flame Terminal was spent informing Umi and Rikuto about what they could expect in the days ahead. When they pulled into the station they were surprised to see Sorcermon waiting for them.

“I see Dark Trailmon has decided to intervene,” Sorcermon said after they stepped out onto the platform.

“Events needed to be sped up,” the Trailmon said in a soft deep voice. “Things are coming to a head and you must be ready when it does. Time is not on your side.”

“Thank you,” Sorcermon said. “We are most grateful.”

“Do not thank me yet,” Dark Trailmon said as he began to pull away from the station, “A great darkness is falling over the Universe. I pray that the children are ready when I come for them again. Their next trip may very well be one way.”

With that final warning Dark Trailmon disappeared, literally vanishing as he pulled out of the Terminal.

“Well that was ominous,” Umi said, shifting nervously.

“Sorcermon, who was that Digimon?” Shinya asked.

“Dark Trailmon,” Sorcermon sighed, turning on his heel and leading them out of the terminal and down the sleepy streets of the Digimon Village that was beginning to show signs of waking up. The sun was just starting to peek up over the hills that surrounded the village. “He is a Digimon that is not bound to this world alone. According to legend, Dark Trailmon appears when things are at a turning point, when an important decision must be made. Tell me, young humans, was something going to happen tonight?”

Shinya and Yutaka looked over at Umi and Rikuto who were trading confused looks.

“Oh!” Umi suddenly gasped. “We were planning on running away.”

“I see,” Sorcermon mused. “And by running away, you two provided the turning point Dark Trailmon needed to appear. Had he not appeared, you two would not be here. You would have been far from where we might have been able to find you when we managed to find a way to reopen travel between our two worlds.”

“How’d you know to meet us at the station?” Yutaka asked.

“Lady Ophanimon told me she sensed Dark Trailmon briefly reappearing in our world,” Sorcermon explained. “When I checked the hut that you and Shinya were staying in and found it empty, I knew that Dark Trailmon must have taken you and waited for your return. I’m glad to see that you found the new Warriors of Water and Earth. And your names are?”

“My name is Rikuto and this is my sister Umi,” the older brother said.

“I can see why you were chosen,” Sorcermon said, his eyes scrunching up in that manner that told them he was smiling. “Your names mean “Land Person” and “Sea” correct? Yes, very fitting indeed.”

Sorcermon brought them to a small cottage looking house on the edge of the village. “I had this house made for the four of you. I knew you’d need a bigger place once all of you were together. Ah! I also have something for Umi and Rikuto as well.”

Sorcermon moved over to a small locked chest on a table in the dinning/kitchen area of the cottage. He took a key out of his pocket and unlocked the chest. Inside were two small idols. He took them out and held one out to Umi and the other to Rikuto.

“These are the physical manifestations of the Human Spirits of the Water and Earth Warriors. Please, take out your D-Tectors and accept them as yours,” he said.

Umi and Rikuto did as they were told and with some instruction, managed to scan the spirits’ idols into their D-Tectors.

“Excellent,” Sorcermon sighed. “I suggest you all rest this morning. I’ll come back around in the afternoon for your training.”

 

**Adventure Digital World: Location: At the Base of Infinity Mountain**

“They got him,” Hiroaki sighed, watching as Datamon became nothing more than scrap data.

“Tentomon!” Keisuke cried out, racing down the incline to reach his downed partner.

“Keisuke, wait!” Haru yelled, racing after his friend.

Hiroaki, Saito and Yumi were quick to follow as well. By the time they reached their dedigivolved partners, Biyomon and Gabumon had the exhausted Tentomon and rejoined Patamon and Agumon by the black box.

“Is everyone alright?” Saito asked.

“Ten is tired but he should be alright,” Biyomon said reassuringly as Keisuke knelt to examine his partner.

“That’s a relief,” Yumi sighed. “So what’s with the box?”

“We don’t really know,” Saito said. “Datamon was trying to open it when we came upon him and his Tankmon guard.”

“They’re the ones that probably ran the Boarmon off the night before,” Hiroaki added. “They probably wanted to clear the area before digging this thing up.”

“Why don’t we open it and see what all the fuss was about?” Haru asked as he looked over the box.

“That might be easier said, than done,” Agumon said. “Datamon looked like he was having a lot of trouble doing that.”

“Let’s have a look then,” Keisuke said, calmer now that he was sure his partner was alright. The man took out a flashlight and examined the box for a moment. When he reached out to touch it, the box vibrated under his fingers. He felt along the sides to find any seams, but found nothing. “There doesn’t appear to be a way to open it. There’s no noticeable door or panel or lock. For all appearances it’s just a black box.”

“Bummer,” Haru sighed, touching the box. “I wonder what Datamon wanted with it.”

“It could be a powersource of some kind,” Hiroaki mused, also running his fingers along the edges.

The box vibrated hard enough to rattle and hummed loudly. Haru, Hiroaki and Keisuke jerked their hands back in alarm. A few seconds later the box settled down again.

“The hell?” Saito said, getting closer to the box. Yumi was right next to him.

“Hiro, do that again,” Keisuke said.

“Do what?” Hiroaki asked.

“Whatever it was that you just did,” Keisuke snapped.

Hiroaki ran his fingers along the box’s edges again. Nothing.

“You two should touch the box too,” Yumi said to Haru and Keisuke. “Recreate the scenario.”

Haru and Keisuke shared a considering look before placing their hands back on the box and Hiroaki touched it too. The box vibrated again, humming loudly.

“Now us, dear,” Yumi said, grabbing her husband’s hand and made him touch the box with her.

The box shot into the air, humming loudly as it spun like a top. Then it seemed to open, its sides unfolding like a geometric flower before floating down to chest level. The five human adults slowly circled around it and looked inside.

“Are those what I think they are?!” gasped Saito.

“Our rings!” Yumi squealed. “I thought they were lost after our battle with Apocalymon.”

Inside the box were five simple but different colored rings; red, blue, yellow, green, and white.

“We all did,” Keisuke said. “We used the power of those rings to seal him away.”

“Well, apparently it wasn’t good enough to just seal him away,” Hiroaki growled. “He came back four years ago and my sons and their friends had to fight him too. They at least ended him once and for all.”

“I remember that,” Keisuke said. “The sky was all weird and we could see what was going on every night.”

“Well, however it happened,” Saito said, reaching into the box and grabbing his red ring, “we have these back now. How, I don’t know, but I’m not about to question it. This means that Agumon and the others will be able to Digivolve all the way up to their Mega levels.”

“Here here,” Haru grinned, grabbing his blue ring.

Yumi grabbed the yellow ring, Keisuke took the green, and Hiroaki took the white one. The ring slid onto their fingers perfectly even though they’d been teenages the last time they’d worn them.

“Now begs another question,” Keisuke mused. “Why was Datamon after these? He couldn’t have known what was inside, could he?”

“I doubt it,” Saito said, spinning the ring around his finger. “Gennai made it sound as if no one in this current Digital World knew much about our time as DigiDestined.”

“That box still radiated power, though,” Yumi pointed out. “Even if they didn’t know what was inside, Datamon probably thought it’d make a good power source.”

“Maybe,” Hiroaki murmured. “If he only wanted it for that, though, why have the Tankmon around? And what about that Bakumon wearing that strange dark ring? Something tells me that something else is at work here, guys.”

“Hiro’s probably right,” Keisuke said grimly. “But at least now we have our partners and our rings, meaning that we’re much better prepared and equipped to handle whatever it is now than we were before.”

“So what now?” Haru asked.

“We continue as planned. “We’ve found Agumon, Biyomon, Patamon and Tentomon, so now we make our way back to Gennai’s base,” Saito said. “Our priority here is helping Hiro get his sons and those other kids back.”

“Right!” Yumi agreed. “If something comes up, we’ll handle it then.

“True,” Keisuke said. “We can’t solve all of this world’s problems and I’m sure Gennai will have someone look into it.”

With everyone in agreement, the adult DigiDestined and their rediscovered partners began to make their way back to Gennai’s. Hiroaki used the comm. device he’d been given before they’d parted ways with Gennai to get instructions on where to go. Apparently Gennai’s base changed location frequently so it was good that Hiroaki had remembered the comm. device, otherwise they would have traveled to where Hiroaki had remembered starting the journey to Infinity Mountain but found nothing.

They got to the edge of the forest of signs and saw the large building waiting for them.

“That’s convenient,” Saito mused.

“No kidding,” Haru laughed. “Even the Digital World has mobile homes.”

Hiroaki led the way into the base where they were escorted by Gennai’s friend, Harry, to the wing where the other parents were staying.

“Hiroaki’s back!” Dan Motomiya had yelled when he spotted them.

Everyone gathered around to greet Hiroaki and meet his old friends, the other four original DigiDestined and their partners. Nancy appeared to be very relieved to see Hiroaki back safe.  
“So what’s been going on?” Hiroaki asked. “How are the kids doing?”

“Our kids are fine,” Susumu Kamiya reported, “but another one of those Warrior kids was hurt badly by another Zaigou a couple days ago. They’ve been staying in a castle up in someplace called Himizu. It’s a snow city of some sort.”

“Yesterday TK and that Koichi boy had a bit of an adventure of their own,” Nancy said, glancing at the wall of screens where TK could be seen amongst the group chatting with the twin Warrior DigiDestined. They appeared to be getting along better than Hiroki last remembered them interacting.

“Oh?” Hiroaki sighed. Why was it always his youngest? “What’s he gotten himself into now?”

“Koichi and TK snuck away from the others yesterday to explore the city,” his ex said, frowning. “They were chased by some lizard creature, but managed to make it back to the castle before it could catch them.”

“Apparently one of the Zaigou has it out for Koichi,” Yuko Kamiya added.

“And Matt?” Hiroaki asked Nancy.

“He’s not the one I’m worried about,” she sighed. “He’s been fine.”

The parents then spent the next hour giving Hiraki and his team a full account of the children’s departure from Sekizou, the fight with Iramon, their travel north, TK and Koichi’s encounter with Paressemon, the afternoon spent in Himizu, and Lord Genbumon’s prophecy.

“So what are they doing now?” Saito asked, taking notice of the large gathered group of children on the screens.

“They’re going to travel through a series underground tunnels.  From the sound of it, they expand throughout the entire world they’re in,” Gennai reported. “They’re trying to travel south under enemy territory in hopes of bypassing any evil digimon and the Zaigou on their way to the southern city, Netsusa. It looks as though they’re getting underway now.”

It was true. The large group was starting to move and Hiroaki could now make out the earthen tunnel walls and the torches that lit their way. He also saw the vicious looking scar over JP’s left discolored eye.

“So how have things been on this end?” Hiroaki asked. “Have you managed to make contact with any outside worlds?”

“Not yet,” Gennai sighed. “Even with the boosted signal we’re only getting static, but sometimes we think we can hear someone answer on occasion, but I don’t think any of the other children’s worlds have managed to clear their communication ways either.”

“We’re able to get the occasional radio broadcast from our world, though,” Dan Motomiya said. “We got to listen to the Hiroshima Toyo Carp game last night.”

“How’d they do?” Haru asked, earning himself a glare from Keisuke and Yumi. Saito only laughed and Hiroaki shook his head.

“They won,” Jun Motomiya said. “Beat the Yokohama BayStars 4 to 1.”

“Sweet!” Haru cheered.

“Ah-hem!” Yumi coughed. “Getting back to the matter at hand, _Haru_ , do we know what we can do next?”

“There might not be nothing for the moment,” Gennai sighed. “Until the other worlds clear up their own communications, we’ll just keep sending out broadcasts until we pick something up.”

Hiroaki noticed Keisuke whispering something to Saito. When the other man nodded, Keisuke reached into his pack and pulled out a broken black ring.

“Gennai? Do you happen to know what this is?” the engineer asked.

“Where did you find that?” Gennai demanded, taking it from Keisuke and examined it with a worried expression.

“On a Bakumon that attacked us last night,” Keisuke said. “It appeared to be under this device’s control.”

“What is that thing, Gennai?” Saito asked.

“A Dark Ring,” Gennai said grimly. “I thought we’d seen the end of these things after Ken Ichijoji stopped being the Digimon Emperor. It’s what he used to enslave Digimon as his puppets.”

Hiroaki noticed that the Ichijojis looked shocked upon hearing what their son had apparently done.

“You say that the ring was controlling a Bakumon?” Gennai asked.

“Yes,” Yumi spoke up. “Poor thing was running scared as soon as it was off.”

“Harry!” Gennai shouted, and soon the other digital man appeared. “Run a scan for control spires.”

Harry frowned, but headed to the nearest computer terminal in the room and ran the scan. “The hell?” he muttered.

“What is it?” Gennai asked, hurrying over.

“There’s … so many,” Harry said, eyes wide. “How?! How did we miss this?!”

“I think we found the reason for our communication system problems,” Gennai sighed.

“What’s going on?” Saito asked, approaching the two digital men, with Hiroaki and Keisuke close behind.

Hiroaki took in the grid on the screen and noticed a lot of small black squares.

“Someone has begun rebuilding the Digimon Emperor’s Control Spires,” Gennai said grimly. “They’re what gives power to the Dark Rings. The DigiDestined weren’t able to open a portal into the Digital World to locations that had one of these towers there.”

“So how did the kids handle it before?” Hiroaki asked.

“They would find portals that opened up in a spire free zone and traveled around to destroy them,” Gennai sighed. “They often split up into teams just to cover more ground.”

“Then that’s just what we’ll do,” Saito said, turning to face his team. “Any ideas, Hiro?”

“We can split into teams of two,” Hiroaki declared. “Saito and Haru can be one team, Yumi and Keisuke can be another. Gabumon and I can round up a team of Digimon to go with us. That way we have three teams to take these things out.”

“Sounds good to me,” Yumi said, grinning. “When do we leave?”

“We just got here,” Keisuke sighed. “Can’t we at least stay the night? Regroup, resupply and all that jazz? Give Hiroaki time to find Digmon to help us out?”

“Sounds good to me,” Saito said. “No use wearing ourselves out.”

“Precisely,” Gennai said. “Right now, you five are the only DigiDestined we have access to. Though, hopefully, if we can take out enough Control Spires, we can get in touch with more of the world’s DigiDestined and get some of them here to help out. Give me a couple of hours, and Mr. Ishida and I can gather up some volunteers to help you all take out those Control Spires.”

“Perfect!” Yumi beamed.

Hiroaki watched as his old friends settled a bit and began to interact with the other parents. Yumi was chatting with the mothers, showing them pictures of her own kids, Saito was hanging out with the dads talking shop and also about their kids, Haru was entertaining the teenagers with stories about their adventures, and Keisuke was talking with Harry and a few other digital men about something that had to do with the base they were in. After a moment, Hiroaki left with Gennai to find their Digimon help.

 

**Savers Human World: Location: Yokosuka Naval Base **

Masaru felt antsy as he unbuckled his harness and exited the C-17 with his Digimon friends in tow. Waiting at the end of the tarmac was a van and waiting outside it was a familiar looking redhead. Her hair was a bit longer than he remembered it but she hadn’t changed much in the five years it had been since he’d seen her.

“Yoshino!” Masaru cried, waving wildly as he rushed over to meet her.

“Masaru Daimon, you’re the worst!” Fujieda Yoshino gasped, laughing, as his bear hug lifted her clean off her feet.

“You haven’t changed. Man, I missed you,” Masaru said, grinning as he set her down and allowed Lalamon to have her own reunion with her human partner.

“Well you’ve certainly have,” Yoshino sighed, after hugging Lalamon, taking in Masaru’s long hair and towering height. “You’re a giant.”

“Nah, you just shrank,” Masaru teased, ruffling her hair. She barely came up to his chest now.

“I take it back,” Yoshino huffed. “You haven’t changed at all. You just grew a bunch.”

They piled into the van and Yoshino took them to DATS HQ, getting Masaru up to date on the situation.

“Director Satsuma got Japan’s DATS branch reinstated the same day the TVs stopped broadcasting normal programing and those kids became big news,” she told him. “The first thing he did was get Miki, Megumi and I reinstated and made heads of a new tech department with your father, Daimon Suguru, at the head of the new research team. Then we had to track down Tohma. He’s been spending the last couple years in Austria with his sister and father. He recently found a cure for Relena’s illness and even won a Nobel Prize this past spring for it.”

“That’s great!” Masaru said, feeling happy for his old friend. He knew how much Tohma loved his little sister and had worried for her health.

“Tohma agreed to come the moment we got in touch,” Yoshino continued. “He and your father have been working restlessly with the Noguchis to try to find a way to get back to our Digital World. Then we got a massive portal reading when you guys arrived in New York. American DATS agents were already on the lookout when you guys had that fight with Cockatrimon.”

“I was wondering why there was already someone there to take us to the American DATS HQ,” Masaru mused.

“We were so happy and relieved to hear that it was you and our old Digimon partners that came through first,” Yoshino sighed.

“Yeah, well, Cockatrimon must have slipped through soon after us,” Masaru grumbled. “You’d think the Royal Knights would have been keeping an eye out for that sort of thing when they sent us through.”

“Regardless,” Yoshino laughed. “I’m so glad you guys are here. You’ve been missed greatly.”

They spent the rest of the ride catching up and when they finally arrived at the old DATS HQ, there was a welcoming committee, Masaru’s parents and sister standing front and center.

“Mom! Dad! Chika!” Masaru cried, jumping out of the van before Yoshino even finished putting it in park.

The next couple of minute were a blur of hugs, tears and incomprehensible statements full of love and happiness. When they finally parted, Masaru spotted Tohma Norstein standing next to Yoshino with Gaomon and Lalamon.

“Hey, Tohma!” Masaru grinned. “Long time no see.”

Tohma snorted, shaking his head. “Masaru.”

“Dude, what’s up with the grandpa glasses?” Masaru asked teasingly. “And what’s up with your hair? You need a haircut.”

“ _I_ need a haircut?” Tohma scoffed, stepping right up in his space and pointedly picked up a long lock of Masaru’s hair that had fallen out of it’s ponytail.

“I’ve always had long hair,” Masaru huffed, lightly smacking Tohma’s hand away. “I can pull it off. Long hair on you just makes you look old.”

The two scowled at each other for a moment, much to everyone else’s unease, but then they both burst into laughter and shared a manly hug.

“It’s great to see you,” Masaru said, grinning as they parted.

“You too,” Tohma sighed, smiling.

Masaru then spent the next half hour greeting Noguchi Ikuto - who’d grown like a weed and, unlike Yoshino, Tohma, and Chika, had shorter hair now - and Kurosaki Miki, Shirakawa Megumi, _Director_ Satsuma Rentarou, and Commander Yushima Hiroshi - none of whom had changed a bit, looking just as they had when he last saw them. It was great seeing his old friends and DATS co-workers. They moved their reunion inside and Masaru was impressed to see how much the base had remained the same, and yet changed with the updates it had received since he’d been inside five years ago.

“So now what happens?” Ikuto asked after things settled down and everyone was gathering in the debriefing room.

“We need to find a way to get to that other Digital World,” Masaru said. “They need help.”

“Yeah, but how do we do that?” Yoshino sighed. “We’re having trouble just getting to our parallel Digital World.”

“That is why I am here,” Kudamon said from his perch wrapped along the back of Director Satsuma’s neck. “I can get in touch with the other Royal Knights and teleport us back. Teleporting uses up a lot of our energy however, so we might have to wait a few days before we try again.”

“Ok, so we have a way to get to our Digital World,” Yoshino said, “but that doesn’t help us get to that other world.”

“You’d have to get there through our Digital World anyway,” Kudamon stated. “Travel between human worlds is impossible, but between other Digital Worlds in the Multi-Verse it _is_ possible to arrange if one can get in touch with that world’s enforcer. That’s why it’s so hard to travel between your world and our world. Your human world has no deity or guardian for us to get in touch with and create a portal or gateway for stable travel.”

“Deity? You mean like Yggdrasil?” Masaru asked, frowning.

“Sort of,” Kudamon mused. “Yggdrasil was considered the god of our world. But these days we Royal Knights fill the role of being our Digital World’s overseers. Together we’re powerful enough to protect our world and reach out to other worlds in the Multiverse. Other Digital Worlds have Digimon of similar status. From what we were able to gather before recent events, many Digital Worlds have multiple guardians. Worlds like the one those children are in are overseen by the Digimon Sovereign. If we want to get anywhere we need to be able to reach them.”

“And how do we do that?” Chika asked asked.

“That is what we must find out,” Kudamon sighed. “The other Royal Knights and I believe that the worlds directly affected by what’s going on with those children will be the hardest to get in touch with. However, if it’s hard to get in touch with those worlds, it’ll be even harder to get in touch with the Sovereign of the world we want to get to.”

“Ok, so let’s problem solve,” Tohma said. “How do you get in touch under normal circumstances?”

“There is a hall where we Royal Knights gather on occasion. We used to go there to commune with Yggdrasil, but these days it’s more for debriefs and meetings. There is a room in the hall where there is a terminal of sorts that we can use to reach out to other worlds,” Kudamon said. “We’ve never had reason to use it to make contact, but we have always made sure to test it regularly to make sure that we can transmit and receive messages from other worlds. We’ve never been ignorant of the possibility that threats can come to us from worlds outside our own.”

“Like Kurata,” Director Satsuma sighed.

“Yes,” Kudamon agreed.

“So we’ll need routers and signal boosting equipment,” Tohma mused.

“My team and I can handle that,” Suguru answered. “Kenji and Mizuru can help me figure out what we’ll need.”

“Mom and Dad do have experience creating equipment that can get through to the Digital World,” Ikuto confirmed when Masaru looked over at the boy. Masaru nodded.

“Ok,” Yoshino said, trying to get the conversation moving again. “So say we get all that equipment transported to the Digital World, and get it up and running in this hall. Then what? We try to get in touch with those Sovereign Digimon from that Digital World the kids are in?”

“Not at first,” Kudamon said. “As I said before, that world is going to be the hardest to get in contact with because the source of the communications block between worlds in the Multiverse if coming from there. I suggest that we try to get in touch with one of the worlds that those children came from. The more worlds in that area of the Multiverse that we can reach, the more help we can get in breaking through to the world we want to get to.”

“You want to piggyback signals,” Tohma said, eyes widening.

“What?” Masaru frowned. “What’s that mean?”

“On our own, our efforts might be for naught,” Director Satsuma said. “However, if we get in touch with other worlds, we might be able to combine our signal strengths and break through to the world we want to get through. In layman's terms, piggybacking means gaining access to a restricted communications channel by using the session another user has already established. What we’d be doing is accessing and using other worlds’ communication networks in order to get through to the one we’re trying to reach.”

“Okaaay,” Masaru drawled, not really getting it.

“Think about it this way,” Tohma said. “Picture a stream. Alone, it isn’t very strong. But if it meets up with and joins other streams along the way, it’ll eventually grow to become a river. What we want to do is join our communications network up with those of other worlds and try to establish contact that way.”

“We want to boost our signal enough in order to reach that other world but to do that we’re going to need the help of other worlds closer to it to do so,” Yoshino huffed. “If we can get in touch with the worlds those children are from, together we might be able to get through to the world they are currently in.”

“Why didn’t you just say that?” Masaru laughed, making a majority of the room sigh.

“So step one is to determine what kind of equipment we’re going to need and get it prepared for transportation to the Digital World,” Director Satsuma said.

“We’ll get right on it, boss,” Megumi said, standing up from where she’d been sitting with Miki and the Pawnchessmon.

“I’ll help,” Tohma said, he and Gaomon following them and Commander Yushima, Kamemon and some other techs Masaru couldn’t remember the names of.

“Aniki,” Agumon spoke up for the first time after most of the people had left the room. “What are we going to do now?”

“You’ll come home!” Chika declared, standing from where she’d been sitting between Ikuto and Piyomon. “We all have a lot to catch up on.”

“Indeed,” Suguru said, looking over at his son.

“Aren’t you going to help with the research?” Masaru asked his father.

“I will, but for now, I don’t think anyone would blame me for wanting to spend some time at home with my family,” Surugu said.

Masaru smiled and followed his parents, sister, and Ikuto out of DATS HQ and headed home for the first time in five years.

* * *

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

Oh man, talk about taking one step forward and two steps back! Who's behind the new Control Spires? What's in store for Alice, Minami and Kai on Level 3 and will they be able to find the lock? How are Umi and Rikuto handle being Warrior DigiDestined? And how soon will the DATS team get what they need before moving their operation to the  Digital World? I guess we'll just have to see next time on Digimon: Digital Monsters!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for all the talk that seemed to happen this chapter, especially during the Savers section. I just really wanted to make it clear on what the Savers are going to attempt. Did anyone get confused? I'm so sorry if you did. I'm not a computer person so trying to write any computer tech jargon pushes me to my creative limits. I'm not sure if what I wrote is actually possible in real life (because I'm not sure how computers and hacking work) but for the sake of Digimon, this BS is gonna have to do. XD If anything was unclear, please let me know in a comment and I'll try to fix it in the next edit. 
> 
> Basically the DATS team wants to use the other worlds as stepping stones (hence the piggybacking term Tohma threw out) to reach out to the Digital World the DigiDestined are, and try to combine their transmission signal strength with the other worlds' signals and to create a strong enough signal to get in touch with the Sovereign in the other Digital World. Again, I don't know if that really works with computers, but I figure it's kinda the same as pinging off several service towers and satalites on a phone line to reach someone in another country or something. Then again, this is all fictitious Digimon world logic and I'm probably over worrying and making mountains out of ant hills and you guys just don't care how they do it so long as they do and we can get caught up with UGotD. XD
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this long new chapter and will leave a comment to let me know how I'm doing.


	21. Chapter 20: New Players

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously on Digimon: Digital Monsters
> 
> Tamers: Alice and Minami talk about Dobermon and Seasarmon. Kai notices their glum moods and tries to cheer them up by singing. The travelers find a group of Drimogemon and Meteormon and are taken to a pueblo city run by a GrapLeomon who is prepared to help them out.
> 
> Frontier: Umi and Rikuto have been chosen to become the new Warriors of Water and Earth. After they return to the Digital World they are met by Sorcermon. Dark Trailmon warns them that Time is against them and that he will come for them again soon. Afterwards, Sorcermon gives Umi and Rikuto the Human Spirits for their Warrior’s Element. 
> 
> Adventure: After defeating Datamon, the adult DigiDestined open the black box and discover their Digimental rings inside of it. Then they head back to Gennai’s base and get caught up on recent events and discover that someone is building control spires and that it is blocking out their signal.
> 
> Savers: Masaru finally makes it to Japan and is reunited with his family and old DATS friends and co-workers. They catch him up on what’s been going on, and Kudamon explains what they need to do to break through to the other world and go help the DigiDestined.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo Hoo! A new chapter so soon after the last one! Yay! And it's a long one too! There's quite a bit of action packed in here, so I hope you all enjoy! I hope I can keep this up in the months leading up to August 1st.
> 
> Also, I'm going to be posting a new Digimon story staring Tai this upcoming Odaiba Day/Anniversary and, lucky you, in honor of my 25th birthday today, I've decided to celebrate by giving you guys a summery of said fic and a small preview that can be found after the Author's note at the end of this chapter and at the end of the new Drowning Memories chapter. And they're two different previews even! ;)
> 
> I DO NOT OWN DIGIMON ADVENTURE, 02, TAMERS, FRONTIER, SAVERS OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS!

 

**Frontier Digital World: Location: Flame Terminal**

It was in the mid-afternoon that Rikuto and Umi watched in amazement as Yutaka and Shinya use their devices - D-Tectors! They were called D-Tectors, Riku - and transformed back into the Warrior Digimon they had been last night before arriving in the Digital World.

"Now it's your turn," Sorcermon said, turning to face Rikuto and Umi, and proceeded to try teaching them how to do the same. Much to Rikuto's irritation, Umi got it on the first try.

"Ningyomon!" she cried as she came out of the fractal code cocoon.

Her Digimon form had bright aqua blue-green eyes and an elvish looking face complete with pointed ears and skin as pale as alabaster. She had vibrant seaweed green hair pulled back into a long and flowing braid that went all the way down to her waist with lotus flowers and strands of pearls and shells interwoven together in a headpiece atop her head and mingled with the long strands of her hair. Her chest was clad in only a salmon colored shell bra much like Ariel from Disney's Little Mermaid. Her lower half was clad in navy blue form-fitting swim leggings that covered her from the hips to her ankles. Her feet were bare. There was a harness strapped to her back that cross-sheathed a pair of long twin knives so that the handles could be seen over her shoulders. Another, shorter dagger was attached to a belt on her right thigh. Along the outside of the lovely Digimon girl's bare arms there were elegant white markings that twisted and spun out and up along the body. The lines up her arms continued along her shoulders, around her neck like some inked on henna necklace, and up the sides of her neck where they hovered along the edges of her face and at the temples where they flared out across her forehead and around her eyes.

"Wow!" Umi-Ningyomon said as she examined herself, eyes and smile wide, until she spotted her brother and realized he hadn't changed.

"What's wrong, Riku? Why didn't you transform?" she asked.

"Because it didn't work," Rikuto huffed.

"Sometimes it takes a few tries," Mokuseimon piped up. "I'm actually surprised Umi got it on her first try. I got it on my fifth attempt and it took Yutaka ten tries before he got it."

"Thanks, Shinya," Tetsukomon drawled, before turning a soft understanding smile towards Rikuto, broke his Spirit Evolution, and approached. "I think I know what the real problem might be, though. Come take a walk with me," he said to Rikuto, so the other boy followed while Mokuseimon and Ningyomon started sparring.

"Try again," Yutaka said once they were out of sight of the younger two.

Rikuto did, but nothing happened. Again. With a growl he shoved the device into his pocket.

"What are you thinking about when you're trying to transform?" Yutaka asked.

"Wondering what I'll turn into, I guess," Rikuto sighed.

Yutaka nodded. "I couldn't transform at first because I was trying to be too logical about it. I wondered how humans could turn into these Digimon creatures. Sorcermon said I was failing because I was trying to apply logic where there is none. These transformations have nothing to do with our human physics and natural laws. In the Digital World, a Digimon digivolves as a result of a strong will and of its fighting _spirit_ , hence why these transformations are called " _Spirit_ Evolutions." I think that trying to imagine what you're going to turn into is hindering your efforts because you've got this image in your mind and are trying to realize it. You're not letting it just happen naturally."

"Okaaay," Rikuto said. "So what do you suggest? What helped you Spirit Evolve for the first time?"

"I had to remember why I agreed to do this in the first place," Yutaka sighed, looking in the direction they could hear Mokuseimon and Ningyomon sparring under Sorcermon's calm praise and instruction. "I thought about my brother, Tommy, and how much I want to find him and keep him safe, and I thought about Shinya and how much he needs me right now because his older brother is dead and he needs someone to look out for him. You and I are more alike than I think you realize, Rikuto."

The older boy turned his gray-brown gaze on the other. "We're not here for adventure or out of any sense of duty to any world or war. We're older brothers. We're here because we fear what might happen to those closest to us if we're not. You're here because of your little sister, just like I'm here for my little brother."

Rikuto nodded.

"Now try again," Yutaka said, "but this time, close your eyes and stop thinking about what you're going to be turning into, and think about Umi and how much you want to protect her and keep her safe."

Rikuto sighed, but took his D-Tector in hand again. He closed his eyes and listened to Umi-Ningyomon's laugh. When was the last time he'd heard her laugh like that? If this world and these people and Digimon would allow her to keep laughing like that, then it really couldn't be all that bad. He'd just have to make sure to protect her, just like he always had.

" _ **Would you like to have the power to do that?**_ " a voice asked. It was too deep and gravelly to be Yutaka's.

Rikuto thought. " _If it'll help me stay by my sister's side, I don't care what I have to do or become._ "

" _ **Careful, boy**_ ," the voice said. " _ **To want the power to protect your loved one does you credit, but take care not to lose yourself in the process. I'm sure your loved one would rather have you as yourself, than have you change so completely that you become unrecognizable even if it was for their sake.**_ "

" _I understand_ ," Rikuto thought.

" _ **Do you?**_ " the voice asked. " _ **...I guess we shall see. EXECUTE!**_..."

"SPIRIT EVOLUTION!" Rikuto finished, feeling a change come over him. "ISHIMON!"

When he opened his eyes, Yutaka was smiling.

"I knew you could do it," the older boy said. "Third time's the charm."

Yutaka then spirit evolved into Tetsukomon and held up one of his mirror sheilds and allowed Rikuto to see what he looked like as a Digimon for the first time. He was wearing green armor accented with browns and greys that matched his D-Tector. There was a huge double-bladed broadsword strapped across his back but it felt as if it weighed no more than his school backpack on a light workload day. Which was surprising, because the sword was so big it nearly dwarfed him in spite of his new tall stature. On his face, he had one long grey triangle beneath each eye that brought out his new dark green eyes that were very different to the blue-green ones he and his sister had as humans. He had short chestnut brown hair on the sides, but long floppy bangs in the front and a long ponytail in the back. He also had a neatly trimmed goatee and thin mustache. It kind of reminded him of the DC comics Green Arrow superhero.

"Shall we go rejoin the others?" Yutaka-Tetsukomon asked.

"...Yeah," Rikuto-Ishimon sighed.

When they came back into view of the others, Umi-Ningyomon squealed in delight, her elven form moving with amazing swiftness to reach them.

"You look so cool, Riku!" she said, hugging him.

"Uh, thanks," Ishimon said, hugging her back.

"Come on, big brother!" she said, jumping back with a smirk. "We've got a lot to learn."

Then they started sparring and Rikuto marveled at how easy the movements came to him and how easily he wielded his broadsword. It wasn't so easy, however, when he faced Yutaka head on and found out that the other boy had him outclassed.

He and Umi both were as they fell back and broke their Spirit Evolutions, having been soundly beat by the other two.

"I thought you guys said that you'd only been training a couple of days!" Umi complained.

"We have," Shinya said after he reverted back to human form as well. He looked confused.

"Have either of you had previous fighting experience?" Rikuto asked.

"No," Shinya said.

"He's just a fast learner with a lot of exuberance," Yutaka chuckled. "I, however, have several years of Tae Kwon Do training and experience. I'm a first dan rank."

"Jeez, no wonder I lost so badly," Rikuto sighed.

"Don't let that discourage you. You two did well for your first time," Sorcermon commented. "You're both fast learners and will learn to fight just as well as Yutaka and Shinya. You both also bear the burden of being carriers of Spirit Partners that are one of the four main elements, so some aspects of your Digimon forms might be harder for you to master in contrast to Shinya and Yutaka whose spirits of wood and metal are secondary elements."

"Great," Umi pouted, while the boys laughed softly under their breaths.

Just then a loud boom was heard coming from the other side of the forest.

"What was that?!" Rikuto gasped.

"Dunno, but we'd better find out," Yutaka said grimly, spirit evolving once more into Tetsukomon."

Shinya did the same and was Mokuseimon again. Umi looked worried, but she squared her shoulders and became Ningyomon once more too. Rikuto took a deep breath and tried to execute his spirit evolution again. It was easier this time, much to his relief.

The four Legendary Warriors of Wood, Metal, Water and Earth raced through the forest and once they came out on the other side, they saw a tall dinosaur Digimon that reminded Umi and Rikuto of Tai Kamiya's Greymon, only this dino was red with green spines and stripes and didn't have the horned helmet that Greymon had. He was also as tall as Tokyo Tower.

The dino Digimon bellowed an earth shaking roar when it spotted them and Rikuto had a very sinking feeling that he'd never be able to watch the Jurassic Park movies again after this.

"It's a Tyranomon. He's huge! Huh? Taka, look at his eyes!" Mokuseimon cried.

"What's wrong with them?" Ningyomon asked.

"They're red," Tetsukomon answered. "Normally they're blue. The few Tyranomon we've met were also a lot smaller than this guy."

"This is not good," Sorcermon said, as he eyed the dino in front of him. "Something is very wrong with him. Unnatural forces have made him this way. I sense it's coming from that ring around the base of his tail."

"Ring?" the four Warriors repeated, before spotting the black ring far along it's tail where it was about a meter away from it's rear.

"So what should we do?" Mokuseimon asked.

"Break the ring and you may be able to return him to normal," Sorcermon instructed.

"Got it," Tetsukomon said. "Alright, let's be smart about this. Mokuseimon and Ningyomon are the fastest. You two distract him and try to lead him away from Flame Terminal and the forest, but keep your distance. Try to use your long range attacks only. Ishimon and I'll sneak around behind him and try to destroy the ring."

"Right!" the younger two Warriors cheered but before they could take off, Ishimon butted in with a fair question.

"But what if the distraction doesn't work, or if one of them gets hurt?" Ishimon asked.

"Then you and I'll do our best to keep him away from them and our roles will reverse themselves," Tetsukomon said.

"And Sorcermon?" Mokuseimon asked.

"I'll head back to the village and warn them just in case you are unsuccessful in diverting Tyranomon from his current course," Sorcermon said.

"Alright," Tetsukomon agreed before addressing the others. "Now let's go before he can get any further."

Mokuseimon and Ningyomon took off, their lighter and faster forms allowing them to reach the dino before Tetsukomon and Ishimon were even halfway there.

"Water Funnel!" Ningyomon cried as she sent a powerful jet of water into Tyrannomon's face. He roared and shook his head, trying to get water out of his eyes.

"Splinter Arrow!" Mokuseimon shouted, launching a large arrow from his bow that splintered apart into several smaller arrows that rained down on the wet dino.

"RUN!" they shrieked as they Tyrannomon bellowed in rage and took off after the two that had attacked him.

"Our turn," Tetsukomon panted when he and Ishimon finally caught up and went after the ring on the enraged dino's tail.

"Easier said than done!" Ishimon growled as he had to duck under the tip of Tyranomon's tail as it lashed agitatedly while he ran.

"Watch it!" Tetsukomon cried, jumping over the tail when it made a low sweep.

"Why do I feel like we got the worst job in your plan?" Ishimon snapped.

"Would you rather Umi and Shinya do this?"

Ishimon growled, but didn't complain after that, though he did curse up a storm when Tyranomon started weaving, making dodging the tail even more difficult.

Ningyomon and Mokuseimon were now leading Tyranomon through a gorge, leaping along ledges and across cliff faces. They'd realized that if they'd continued the chase out on open ground, than their heavier armored teammates would wear out before they even got a chance to destroy the ring. They reached a dead end and did their best to stay out of Tyranomon's reach, darting among the higher cliffs that were only just out of the red lizard's snapping jaws' reach.

Ishimon and Tetsukomon took a moment to figure out how to go about attacking the ring. It's placement on it's tail made it tricky to get at. The moment they attacked, Tyranomon would know they were there and could very well turn its attention onto them.

"We need to make this count," Tetsukomon said. "If we miss the ring, but still hit him, we might very well end up squashed."

"So let's not miss," Ishimon said. "You go high, I go low?"

"Sounds good to me," Tetsukomon said, before launching himself up along the cliffs until he was about waist high on the dino. Ishimon kept to the shadows on the opposite end of the gorge from him. Once they were in position they awaited their chance to strike.

"Riku and Yutaka need us to keep him still!" Ningyomon shouted over at the Warrior of Wood. "You ready?"

"Yup!" Mokuseimon cried, giving her a thumbs up before attacking. "Vine Net!"

"Draining Rain!" Ningyomon cried, conjuring a dark cloud and let it pour on the dino.

Tyrannomon bellowed and roared, trying to throw off the net Mokuseimon had summoned, but Ningyomon's rain was weakening him.

"NOW TAKA!"

"NOW RIKU!"

Ishimon and Tetsukomon were on Tyranomon in a flash, the Metal Warrior leaping down from above, his swords slashing down, flashing in the fading evening light, while Ishimon darted forward and swung his broadsword up. Their combined attacks managed to crack the ring, but not sever it.

"Crap," the Warriors of Earth and Steel thought as they quickly darted away from Tyranomon before his tail could flatten them. Tyrannomon threw off Mokuseimon's net, and sent a fireball at Ningyomon's cloud, vaporizing it, before turning on the pests running around under its feet. Mokuseimon and Ningyomon darted away from the flailing tail that made their current footholds too treacherous to stay on.

"Sooo… What's plan B?" Ningyomon asked, voice shaking as the terrifying and thoroughly ticked off Digimon in front of them roared.

"We try again," Tetsukomon said, speaking to them all through their D-Tector. "Are you two fine up there?"

"Peachy," Mokuseimon huffed. "You?"

"Managing," Ishimon grunted, jumping to avoid Tyranomon's snapping jaws.

Having so many opponents, Tyranomon seemed to be trying to bring the gorge down around them, lashing out with it's tail.

"Guys, we have to stop him soon or we're going to get crushed," Tetsukomon said, doing his best to avoid falling rocks as well as the tail and jaws.

"How?" Ningyomon cried, "We're kinda running out of cliff space up here!"

"You two will attack at the same time again," Tetsukomon said, "and Ishimon and I'll take another crack at the ring. Ready?"

"READY!" Mokuseimon and Ningyomon shouted before trying their Vine Net and Draining Rain attacks, slowing Tyranomon down enough to allow Ishimon and Tetsukomon to attack the ring again. This time their blows were met with success and the ring shattered. Tyrannomon let out one last roar before he shrank to about 1/3rd in size and his eyes turned blue. He let out a groan before falling back onto his rear.

 

**Tamers Digital World: Location: Level 3 - Pueblo City**

"I see," GrapLeomon said, looking around at the three humans and the large group of Digimon accompanying them. "Then my people and I will do our best to aid you in your quest. I shall ask around for volunteer Digimon and we will find this lock you seek. From your descriptions of the other two locks you have come across, I believe that our best bet would be to search around the highest level of our city. There are three towers that go up beyond the canyon our city sits in that have become inaccessible as of late."

"Thank you," Alice said, bowing her head in gratitude. "We appreciate any help you can give us."

GrapLeomon nodded and then organized his level's volunteers into three groups, each deployed with a couple of Labramon, Dobermon and Cerberumon to help sniff things out. Alice felt sad watching the dog Digimon, particularly the Dobermon, and Minami had similar feelings upon seeing the Labramon, which was apparently the rookie level of Seasarmon as well as Dobermon. Alice's group had GrapLeomon and a flock of Hawkmon and Biyomon. Minami's group had Palmon and Agumon, and Kai's group had Armadillomon and Veemon. They all split up to search one of the three towers each that GrapLeomon had spoken of and went to investigate their surroundings.

Alice and her group had the first tower. It was stationed at the far end of the city opposite of the opening in the tunnels they'd exited earlier that day. The Labramon, Dobermon and Cerberumon sniffed around while the Hawkmon and Biyomon flew around the tower to see if they could find anything. GrapLeomon and Alice looked at ground level, trying to find any sort of hidden switch or lever on the tower or in the surrounding buildings. They must have searched for hours before determining that nothing was to be found on their tower.

Minami's group wasn't having much luck either. The Palmon had scaled every reachable inch of the tower and had found nothing. The Agumon had helped search the ground level and the Labramon, Dobermon and Cerberumon hadn't found a thing. Kai's group had discovered nothing as well, even with the Armadillomon burrowing under to find anything.

"Now what?" Kai asked once everyone was gathered together again in the meeting hall in the center of the city.

"We'll have to look elsewhere," Alice sighed, before turning to GrapLeomon. "Are there any strange tunnels that we might want to look at?"

GrapLeomon frowned, thinking deeply before addressing the Dobermon and Cerberumon. "You patrol these tunnels. Has there been anything strange going on?"

"Not that we've come across," the pack leader answered.

"But what about Drimogemon?" a Dobermon piped up. He was a lot smaller than some of the others, meaning that he had recently digivolved in comparison to his fellows.

"What about Drimogemon, little one?" GrapLeomon asked.

"He said that the ground felt funny somewhere," Dobermon explained. "Said he didn't want to tunnel near it."

"Which Drimogemon was this?" GrapLeomon asked.

"The one that likes to dig south of the city," the little dog answered.

GrapLeomon looked consideringly at the Dobermon before nodding. "Then let's go see what he has to say."

Everyone got up and followed GrapLeomon back towards the tunnels and after a little travel came upon a Drimogemon.

"Drimogemon!" GrapLeomon called out. "We wish to speak with you."

"Yes, GrapLeomon?" the mole Digimon asked, backing out of the hole he'd been digging.

"This young Dobermon said that you came across some ground that felt strange to you," GrapLeomon said. "Could you please elaborate what you meant?"

"What? That? It was nothing," Drimogemon said. "The ground vibrated with an energy I didn't fancy running into. Nothing like getting a shock through the drill, ya know? It's bad enough running into the odd large rock. Now that'll give you a headache."

"Indeed," GrapLeomon said, "but pray tell, where was this spot?"

"Why do you wish to know?" Drimogemon asked.

"We're looking for the lock to the next level. We're looking into anything strange that may be going on in the area. Was this spot you found always like that or was it just a recent development?" Alice asked.

"Recent," Drimogemon said slowly. "I've always enjoyed tunneling around this sector, but I'm sure that this spot wasn't around before the lockdown."

"Are you aware of a path up to the next level that is now closed off in that area?" Minami asked.

"Hmm… Now that you mention it, there used to be the lift," Drimogemon said. "But a lot of the tunnels surrounding it collapsed when the lockdown happened. That's why I've been going back and re-digging a lot of my old tunnels."

"Could that be it?" Kai asked Alice.

"It has to be," Alice mused. "The collapsed tunnels are more than enough to seal off a level. Not every lock might be activated by a switch like the first two. I think it all depends on the level itself."

"We'll need a tunneling team, though, if we want to reach it," Minami said.

"Leave that to us," GrapLeomon said before readdressing the Drimogemon. "Get some of your tunneling friends that'll help us dig up these tunnels. It is imperative that the humans continue with their quest to reach the Sovereign. Your help will be most appreciated."

"Oh course!" the Drimogemon cried before taking off back down his tunnel, presumably to get more of his kind.

"So what now?" Kai asked.

"Now we wait and rest, human," GrapLeomon said. "There'll be plenty more work to do when Drimogemon returns, but for now, I suggest we take a break. Who knows how long it'll be before we find that lock of yours."

"He's right," Alice sighed, sitting down on the floor. "We could all use some rest since our last rest break was interrupted."

"Right," Kai huffed, eyeing the Cerberumon who only stared defiantly back.

"Come on, Kai," Minami said softly. "They were just protecting their home. Let's get some sleep. I doubt we'll be able to once Drimogemon returns and starts digging again."

"Fine," Kai huffed, sitting down beside her and conking out within seconds.

"Jeez, that was fast," Alice chuckled.

"He can sleep just about anywhere," Minami giggled softly. "And apparently so can his new partner."

Monochromon was sleeping just a couple of meters away, with the platoon of Gekomon sleeping on his back and a few other digimon curled up beside him.

"We should sleep as well," Alice said, sitting on Minami's other side and leaned back against the tunnel wall.

Within minutes, she was asleep too and Minami not far behind. While the three humans slept, GrapLeomon ordered the Dobermon and Cerberumon to patrol the area and had the Labramon keep an eye out for Drimogemon and his friends.

  

**Adventure Digital World: Location: Gennai's Base**

It was around midnight on the base and nearly everyone was sleeping except for the few parents that had volunteered to stay up and keep watch on the children so that if something happened, the others could be awoken quickly. Susumu Kamiya was on monitor duty with Nancy Takaishi and Dan Motomiya. They were scheduled to continue monitoring until 2 AM when they'd be replaced by James Kido, Toshiko Takenouchi, and Masami Izumi.

It was a boring job most nights - not that Susumu was complaining, mind you, because boring nights were good and safe nights for their children - but Susumu figured something was going to happen when TK and Koichi moved away from their post and approached Ken and Ryo's.

Susumu turned on the audio at his station and listened in.

"What's up?" Ken asked.

"Koichi senses something coming from one of the tunnels," TK said.

"Do you think it's an enemy Digimon?" Tai's voice asked.

Susumu looked at his son's channel and realized that his son must have settled down near Ken and Ryo's guard post after they'd relieved him a half hour ago, but hadn't fallen asleep yet.

"No," the Koichi boy said, "I sense no malice or evil intent, but if there are tunnelers working in this area, it couldn't hurt to see how far off they are in case we need to move campsites, or see what they know about any enemy Digimon in the area."

"We're just going to go check it out," TK reassured them. "I'll let you guys know what we find via the D-Terminal."

"Alright." Ken nodded.

"Be careful you two," Ryo warned.

"We will," Koichi said, smiling. "After all, we've got Patamon with us."

"Leave it to me!" Patamon stated, thumping his chest.

"All the same, Patamon, I think Agumon and I'd better go with you three," Tai sighed, turning to wake his Digimon. "Your brothers would kill me if anything happened to you two."

Uneasy chuckles echoed through the speakers. Susumu frowned.

"I don't like that one bit," Nancy said from her station a couple monitors away from his.

"Neither do I," Susumu said, watching his son, Nancy's youngest, and the other boy move away from the others.

"Should I wake the others?" Dan asked.

"My wife, maybe," Susumu mused, watching.

"And Hiroaki as well," Nancy said. "But I see no need to wake any of the others yet."

Dan nodded and left his station of monitors to go wake up Yuuko and Hiroaki. When he came back with them, the other four that made up Hiroaki's DigiDestined team and their partner Digimon were with them as well as the three who were supposed to take over the next watch.

"What's going on?" Yuuko asked. "Dear?"

Before Susumu could answer he heard the kids speaking and only turned up the volume on the speakers in answer. Nancy pulled up Tai, TK, and Koichi's channels on the main viewing monitors, so that everyone could see.

The boys were turning around another bend in the tunnel but torchlight was just too dim for the parents to make out what the children were seeing. Most of the time, the channels were focused on their children's front view from the chest up, but on occasion, especially when something was going on, like a battle or they were conversing with someone or Digimon that weren't their partners, the shot panned around them and provide its viewers with over the shoulder shots, like it was doing now, but at all times the camera always showed some part of it's staring child.

"It's just a Drimogemon," Koichi sighed, sounding relieved.

"Are you sure about that?" a feminine voice giggled.

The parents were on alert in an instant as the dark shape that they'd barely been able to see suddenly moved and stared at them with beady glossed over eyes. The quality of the camera shots suddenly improved, like someone had turned on the night vision.

"Gottcha," the voice giggled again and from behind the mole Digimon, Paressemon appeared. "Time for you to take a little stroll with me, my dear Warrior of Darkness."

"Damn," Dan muttered, "I'm waking the others."

"Gabumon, go find Gennai," Hiroaki ordered and the wolf-like Digimon raced off as well.

No one stopped either of them as they raced out of the room with Toshiko right behind Dan.

"I don't think so," Tai said grimly, placing himself between the Zaigou and Koichi. TK moved to do the same.

"Well I do," Paressemon said darkly and reached out her hand towards Koichi. "Come with me, Dark, and I promise that your friends won't get hurt. I'll even give them the means to leave these tunnels unharmed and reach Netsusa without any detours or interference from the other Zaigou. I give you my word like I did back in the western forest."

"What do you want with him?" TK demanded.

"That is none of your concern," she said breezily.

"Sorry, but no," Tai stated with finality.

"I'll be fine, Tai," Koichi said, placing a hand on the older boy's shoulder. "She won't hurt me."

"I won't," Paressemon said, grinning. "I'll promise you that too if you'd like."

It was at this moment that the other families came hurrying into the room in various states of dress.

"I'm sorry, Koichi, but I can't let you do that," Tai said, ignoring the Zaigou. "We've already lost one member of the DigiDestined and I won't stand by and let another one go without a fight. Think about Koji. He's still distraught over losing Takuya. What do you think your disappearance will do to him even if she doesn't hurt you?"

Koichi remained silent and Paressemon glared angrily at Tai. Susumu didn't like that look at all. While he was tremendously proud of his son for being such a strong leader for all of their kids, he worried for Tai's own well being.

"You said that you wouldn't stand by and let him go, didn't you?" she asked coldly.

"That's right." Tai nodded.

"Then how about you kneel!" she snarled and with a snap of her fingers the mole Digimon lunged forward, the drill on its nose buzzing loudly and ominously through the speakers.

Agumon and Patamon leaped into action, Patamon digivolving into Angemon before they took on Drimogemon, but Paressemon darted past them and with a swipe of her hand she sent Tai flying into a wall. He slid to the ground winded and looking dazed.

"Tai!" Susumu and Yuuko cried out in unison with TK, but while their attention was on their son, Nancy and Hiroaki were watching their youngest as he came face to face with the teenage Zaigou. Then Koichi suddenly crumpled behind TK in a heap and his channel blacked out, leaving only Tai's slightly staticy one and TK's. TK threw out his arms but Paressemon only seemed to be amused by the action.

"TK!" Angemon could be heard crying out, followed by the shrill cry of the Drimogemon.

There was a small gasp followed by a thud, but with Tai's channel focused on where the boy was trying to get up, using the tunnel's wall for support, and TK's was focused on him and Paressemon, so the parents couldn't see how the Digimon fight was going. They could still hear Angemon fighting but no one could hear Agumon. They could only assume that the small dino had been knocked out.

"There is no way in hell that I'm going to leave Koichi alone with you or any of the other Zaigou," TK swore aloud.

"TK!" Angemon cried out again, sounding desperate, but he didn't appear on either channel.

"Is that so?" Paressemon said, smiling sweetly. "Then you leave me no choice. I'll have to take you as well."

"No!" Tai's voice cried out hoarsely in unison with Angemon's, and TK's parents.

TK, however, stared fiercely at Paressemon, his feet stubbornly planting him between her and Koichi. Her smile only widened as she reached out towards him and with a gentle pushing motion, something must have pulsed through the air and struck him. TK cried out loudly, and Nancy and Hiroaki shouted his name as they watched him fall to the ground next to Koichi. His channel was staticy, but everyone could see TK reach out his hand and grip Koichi's.

"I won't let anything happen to you… my friend," they heard TK promise under his breath before his channel blacked out as well.

Nancy let out a distressed sob before falling back against Hiroaki.

"Calm yourselves," Gennai said, announcing his arrival with Gabumon who hurried to Hiroaki's side. "Matt is on his way with backup."

Susumu, Hiroaki, Nancy, and the others returned their attention while Gennai removed TK and Koichi's channels and replaced them with Koji, Matt, Ken and Ryo's channels.

"TK's cries must have echoed throughout the tunnel and woke up many of the sleeping DigiDestined back at camp," Gennai explained, and the parents could see on some of the other monitors that most of their children were awake now as well while Koji and Matt rushed off with Ken and Ryo and their Digimon. Gennai had their channel volumes lowered so that Tai's could be heard clearly.

"How sweet," Paressemon's voice sighed, while Tai took up the same defensive position as TK had before the two fallen boys.

"Out of my way," Paressemon ordered.

"Over my dead body," Tai panted, sending chills down his parent's spines.

"Humans are such silly creatures," she sighed. "But if you insist-!"

Paressemon lunged forward again, but instead of simply swatting him away like she had last time she suddenly had a dagger in hand and slashed at him across the chest. Tai stumbled back and had no time to ward off her follow up attack. She slashed at him again in a series of swipes, grazing his right cheek, left temple and nicking his right shoulder before sliding the long blade home into the center of his chest deep enough that the tip could be seen poking out of his back. Time seemed to stop as the parents stared at the scene, Tai's screen fading into static so bad that they could hardly see anything, but the audio was still clear enough for them to hear Tai's ragged breaths.

"I was careful to make clean cuts and pierce you just below your heart," Paressemon said in a low voice. "You should still be alive by the time the others reach you. I just hope your medic knows enough about crystal healing to save you. I'd hate to have you die by my hands, DigiDestined of Courage. It is an unfit death for one as noble as yourself. I do not relish in killing like all of the other Zaigou, so know that I do not take this action against you lightly. We both know that I wouldn't have been able to take Dark and his friend with you in the way. I hope that one day you will come to forgive me."

Angemon could faintly be heard crying out in frustration in his fight with Drimogemon but otherwise it was quiet aside from Tai's pained and panting breaths until the Zaigou spoke again.

"I do promise you, young man, that no harm will befall these two boys. I swear on my life that you will find them safely again in the desert city of Netsusa. Take this orb and it will not only guide you all safely there, but it will also warn you if any of the other Zaigou are nearby. It will glow whenever one is close like it is doing now with me here."

Tai's channel was darkening beneath all the static, so they couldn't see this orb she was talking about, but there was a slight rustling sound of fabric before she spoke again.

"I am sorry," she told Tai before there was a sound that sounded like snapping fingers, before another voice spoke.

"My Lady?" it hissed.

"Take the boys," Paressemon ordered.

"As you wish," it said before Angemon let out another anguished and desperate cry.

"Farewell, DigiDestined of Courage," Paressemon said softly. "I do hope we meet again under different circumstances."

It was unnervingly quiet apart from Tai's panting breaths and the sound of Angemon's fight for the next couple of minutes before Tai let out a cry of pain and his channel staticed so badly even the audio was cutting out.

"I really am sorry," Paressemon's distorted voice gasped. "Drimogemon! We are leaving."

There was another faint snapping sound and then Angemon let out what must have been a roar of anger before it finally cut out and nothing but dark snow could be seen on Tai's channel.

Yuuko let out an anguished wail, completely collapsing as her legs gave out underneath her. Susumu tried to support her but her dead weight dragged him to the ground as well. He felt utterly numb and helpless as his eyes remained on his son's channel. Nancy and Hiroaki made their way over and kneeled next to them.

"Where are Matt and the others?" Nancy asked softly.

"Still on their way," Dan Motomiya reported grimly. "They should be getting close now.

"There!" Jun Motomiya shouted, and soon the audio from Matt and the other three boys channels were turned up.

"Angemon!" Matt's voice cried out "Are you hurt?! You're bleeding! Where's TK?"

Many of the parents gasped as they took in the sight of Angemon with an unconscious Agumon tucked under one arm while he supported Tai, who was covered in blood, in the other.

"It's not my blood. I'm not even sure if Digimon can bleed," Angemon gasped as he fell to his knees, dropping Agumon in the process. The small yellow dinosaur Digimon groaned and began to stir. Gabumon rushed over to his side friend's side while Matt approached Angemon's bleeding cargo and looked horrified.

"Tai?" Matt gasped. "Oh God, what happened to him?!"

He took Tai from Angemon and the moment he did, Angemon reverted back into Patamon and collapsed. Ken picked up the little Digimon and Ryo saw to Agumon. Koji remained beside Matt, looking shocked, to see the older boy injured. Tai's breathing was shallow but he must have been consciousness enough to speak.

"Matt," he rasped.

Yuuko let out another sob, trembling so hard, Susumu attempted to hold her tighter against him. Nancy was on his other side, hugging her tightly as well.

"I'm here, Tai!" Matt cried, holding his best friend close. "I'm right here. Koji, Ken, and Ryo are here too. We're going to get you to Joe. Everything is going to be alright, Tai, so stay with me, ok?"

"I'm… sorry," Tai coughed. "I'm so… sorry. I… couldn't …stop her. She…s got… them. TK and …Koichi."

"Don't talk," Matt and Koji both ordered.

Tai had a round of wet sounding coughs and the parents knew that Matt didn't have much time if he was going to save him. Koji took out his D-Tector and became KendoGarurumon.

"Let's go," the transformed human-digimon barked.

Matt wasted no time boarding KendoGarurumon's back and with Ryo and Ken's help, they got Tai up as quickly and smoothly as possible. They all rushed back the their camp and when they got there all of the other children were awake and in an uproar. As they rushed in, it became deathly quiet until Kari could be heard screaming when she must have seen Matt dismount KendoGarurumon with her brother.

"TAI!" she cried, but on her channel the parents could see Sora and Yolei holding her back to allow Joe to rush forward with his medical kit in hand with that JP boy right behind him. A space was cleared and Joe ordered the others around for things like spare blankets and bowls of water.

The tension in the monitoring room was palpable as the parents watched Joe's channel while he worked on Tai. Hours passed as Joe worked relentlessly to help the younger teen. Yuuko was finally moved from the floor and was now curled up with Susumu and Nancy on a couch the others had brought in for her from one of their lounge areas. When Joe finally took a break, Tai's channel had cleared enough to see him on it, though it was still staticy like a channel coming in through a bad broadcast connection. Everyone sighed with relief when Joe reported to Matt and Koji that Tai was clear and would make a full recovery in time.

"Good boy," James Kido sighed, sitting back heavily in his chair. "Good boy, Joe. You did good."

His eldest son, Jim, was sitting across the conference table from him nodding.

"I just wish there was something I could do," Jim whispered.

"You and me both," Jun Motomiya said, taking the seat next to him. "I hate feeling so helpless. What if that had been Davis? We've never really got along, but…"

"I hear ya," Mantarou Inoue said as he and his two sisters, Chizuru and Momoe, joined them. "That's our baby sister out there too."

"I hate being cooped up in here, being unable to do anything other than watch," Momoe growled, Chizuru nodding, making her short hair bob.

"But what can we do?" Jim asked, looking around. "It's not like we're DigiDestined like they are, or even like how Mr. Ishida and his friends are."

"Would you like to be?" someone asked.

The four teenagers (and young adult) jumped in their seats before facing Gennai.

"What are you saying?" Jun asked.

"Would you be interested in becoming DigiDestined?" the digital man asked. "You young men are a bit on the older end of the scale, but I think we can manage something."

"Wait," Montarou said, "are you saying we can become DigiDestined like their brothers and our sister?"

"Perhaps not quite like them," the digital man mused. "No one else can possess the powers of Joe's Crest of Reliability, or can use the Digi-eggs of Love and Sincerity like Yolei except perhaps those already on her team, but we can certainly give you a partner Digimon of your own. Interested?"

The teenagers shared a look between them all before Jim stood.

"I'm in," he declared, much to the surprise of his father. "Joe's been doing greet as he is, but I can't help but worry for my little brother. If I can go, than I will."

"Me too," Jun cried, jumping to her feet too. "Davis and I may not get along all that well, but I'm still his big sister and I care about the idiot."

Montarou and his sisters looked at each other before glancing at their parents who were staring with all the others at them.

"Together?" Chizuru asked.

"Well you're not going alone," Montarou scoffed.

"For Yolei," Momoe said before standing and saying, "We're in too."

"Is that wise, Gennai?" Hiroaki asked. "To bring new DigiDestined into this?"

"You and your friends are going to need help," Gennai said, "and the more of you we can send, the better chance we have of helping Tai and the rest of them in that other world."

"You speak as if we're going to wind up in that other world too," Saito said from where his group of adult DigiDestined were gathered around Hiroaki.

"You might not have a choice in that," Gennai said grimly. "If we cannot bring the children home from here, then it is only natural that someone must be sent there to help open a gateway between our worlds."

Saito and his wife shared a worried look.

"We came to help get Hiro's sons and the other children back," Yumi said, "but I never thought we might have to actually go where they were."

"Indeed," Hiroaki sighed. "But if that's what must be done, I understand if the rest of you stay after we clear up the communication and travel issues here and head home to your own families."

"Now wait just a damn minute, Ishida," Yumi snapped. "I didn't say that."

"She's right," Saito said, as firm as his wife. "We came to help you get your sons back and that's just what we're going to do. You're not in this alone, Hiro."

"Sai's right," Haru piped up. "We're a team."

"And I have no wife and kids back on Earth anyway," Keisuke said. "You can't get rid of me that easily, Hiro."

"You can't get rid of any of us," Saito said. "Sure, we might miss our families, and it might take a while longer for us to see them again, but at least we know they are safe. Your boys aren't though. That's why we're here, and we're not going home until they are."

Hiroaki smiled and nodded. Nancy teared up a bit and whispered a soft "thank you" under her breath.

"But, getting back to the original point," Hiroaki said, turning to the young adults before him, "are you five sure that you want to do this? Are you really prepared for the responsibilities of a DigiDestined? Are you prepared to go to other worlds and fight their battles because you're part of a team that may be the only one that can do it? Are you prepared to deal with this world's problems as they arise and even be summoned away from home without even a moment's notice, like the others were?"

Jun, Jim, Mantarou, Chizuru and Momoe looked around at each other, concern and worry on their faces. Then Jim squared his shoulders and nodded.

"Are you sure, Jim?" James asked his eldest son.

"As sure as I can be," Jim said. "All I know is that at the rate the injuries have been happening, Joe is going to need help. Even though I switched majors from medicine to theology, I still have medical training and can be of help. There are so many kids over there and Joe's had to be medically responsible for all of them. Sure, that JP kid can help out now, but that's still only two medics among such a large group. Sorry, Dad, but I'm going if I can."

"Jun?" Dan said when he noticed his daughter moving to stand beside Jim once more.

"I may not be able to be as useful as Jim," she said, "but I still want to help. I can't just sit here and watch Davis and the others go through this nightmare of a trip. I can't even begin to tell you how many times over the last year that I've wished that I had a Digimon of my own so that I can go on adventures with Davis and his friends and I know now that it's not all just fun and games, but I still wish for a partner of my own. Not just a partner for a friend or to go on adventures, but to help them. So if I can… I will."

"We feel the same," Montarou said as he and his sisters faced their parents. "We don't want to go, but if we can find Yolei and bring her home, then we're going to do it. That's why we came to this world, right? And now that we have a chance to do that, are you really going to stop us?"

"Please understand," Momoe implored.

"You can't say that if the positions were reversed that you'd say no," Chizuru argued. "Wouldn't you leave and join the fight if you could just for Yolei?"

The Inoue parents looked down, knowing that they couldn't argue with their children's logic.

"If this matter is settled," Gennai said, "then come with me."

The five youths nodded and followed the digital man out of the room with Hiroaki and his team moving to follow as well.

"Wait!" Mike Inoue said, halting Hiroaki's movement. "Will you look after them? Will you keep our son and our daughters safe?"

"We'll do all that we can," Saito said, his expression serious. "Nothing is ever for certain in Digiworld, but you have our solemn promise that the five of us will be there for them."

"Especially if we end up having to travel to that other world," Hiroaki vowed turning his gaze to the screen where TK's channel was still blacked out and Tai's was still coming in fuzzy. He then turned away and led his team after Gennai.

~*~*~*~*~*~

It looks like the new Warriors are off to a great start as a team, but what was up with that black ring on Tyranomon? And will Alice, Kai and Minami discover the way to the next level buried in those tunnels as they hope? And who will Jim, Jun, Montarou, Momoe, and Chizuru have as partners? I guess we'll find out next time on Digimon: Digital Monsters!

 

 

### AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Sorry guys, no Savers/Data Squad part this chapter. Masaru is just kinda hanging out with family and old friends while the smart people get their gear together and there wasn't much I could write about that that couldn't be summarized in the next big part anyway, so I left it out. Besides, this is a super long chapter. The longest I've ever written for this story, I think. I'm also sorry that the Tamers part was so short compared to the others, but this is all happening in the evening to early morning hours and there's not much they can do until after they rest. If you think about it, they haven't really had a chance to sleep since before the Cerberumon attacked them a couple chapters ago. They'll get a bigger part next chapter, promise. :)

* * *

ALRIGHTY! So, as I said at the beginning of the chapter, I started working on a new Digimon story. Recently, I watched the entire Digimon Fusion (Xros Wars) series on Netflix and then Hunters part of the series (in japanese with english subs of course) on my computer, and then watched the 3 available Digimon Tri movies/episodes for the first time and was inspired by what was going on with Tai's character and his situation in the first part/episode of the series and this fic was born. I ended up writing 1 1/2 chapters in one evening equaling 22 pages total on Google Docs. I have yet to decided if I want this story to be part of the UGotD verse, or if I want it to be it's own thing. I also haven't really decided if I want to use English dub or original Japanese names or a mix of both (like I am for PM and UGotD) in this, so even though I'm using a mix of both names in this preview, they are possibly going to change by the time I get around to posting the first full and official chapter, but here's a summery of what my new story is going to be about:

**Tai Kamiya is nearing the end of his last year in high school and isn't sure what he wants to do with his life after graduation. The other DigiDestined have all seemed to grow up and are following their own paths, but Tai feels stuck and isn't quite ready to let his childhood go - at least, not the DigiDestined part of it that links him to the Digital World and the Digimon. Then one day he gets a job offer he knows he can't refuse because it will allow him to team up with his old Digimon partner, Agumon, again. The catch? He can't tell anyone, not even the other DigiDestined, about it and he is expected to lead an army of Digimon in a war in a different Digital World outside of his home dimension.**

Though this fic is Tai-centric, it's going to be a crossover between all of the current Digimon seasons excluding only Tri in the canon because it's technically still ongoing and this is taking place instead of that. I haven't decided on a title for this yet, but a few ideas that I've been playing around with are: "The Courageous General" or "The General of Courage", "The 3rd Xros War" or "Xros Wars III", and "The Orange Sun's Brave Strikers." If any of you have better ideas, PLEASE leave your suggestion in a comment. Thank you!

And now onto that promised preview! Here is a small excerpt from the current draft of chapter 1:

 

"This is your new Xros Loader digivice," Gennai explained. "It'll be able to carry any and all Digimon you wish to bring with you to and from worlds. At present, it only has one occupant."

"Huh?" Tai said uncomprehendingly until his device lit up and a familiar voice called his name.

"Is that Agumon?!" Tai gasped.

"It is," Gennai chuckled. "To release him, you have to say, "Reload, Agumon.""

"Reload, Agumon," Tai repeated, pointing his digivice in front of him. A beam of light shot out of the Xros Loader's screen and Agumon appeared. "Awesome! It's great to see you, Agumon."

"It's great to see you too," Agumon cried as Tai kneeled to give his old partner a hug. "Gennai's told me what you're up to and I just want you to know that I'm with you one hundred percent."

"Glad to hear it," Tai said, grinning.

"Here is a manual on the new Xros Loader," Gennai said, handing a small booklet to Tai. "Unlike your old digivice, this one comes with a lot of additional functions. I borrowed the design from a couple other Digital Worlds. Mainly, the one you two will soon be fighting in."

"Right," Tai said, flipping through the book, eyes widening to see the various things his new digivice could do. "Holy smokes, you weren't kidding. Maps, data analysis, Digimon Analyzer… Multiple Digimon storage… you mentioned that. What do you mean?"

"In the worlds outside our own, normal digivolving might not work depending on where you're from. The reason I needed your old digivice, Tai, was to integrate it and it's data into this new device, so that Agumon would be able to digivolve into Greymon no matter where you are. The Xros Loader is designed to work in all worlds in the Multiverse. Then when you accepted the Xros Loader, it turned orange, meaning that it became infused with your Crest of Courage, and will continue to allow Agumon to digivolve further into Metalgreymon and WarGreymon. However, whenever you travel the Multiverse, you'll be going alone," Gennai said grimly. "In the past, you've always been able to rely on your friends for back up. Out in the Multiverse you will not. You may be able to rely on the other DigiDestined from other worlds, but all you'll have beside you is whoever you take with you. Namely Agumon and any other Digimon you take into your Xros Loader and make a member of your army."

"Come again?" Tai said, staring. "Did you say army?"

"This Xros Loader allows you to have more than one Digimon partner," Gennai said. "Although Agumon will always be your main partner and the heart of your team, you'll need the strength of other Digimon to help you fight in the war raging across the multiverse. Observe."

Gennai turned to a monitor and began to pull up some footage of a boy that looked a few years younger than Tai, with bushy brown hair and a pair of round lensed goggles on his head in a similar fashion to how Tai had worn his goggles when he was younger and leader of his team of DigiDestined. Beside him was a digimon that looked like red and more pointy version of Veemon.

"This is Taiki Kudo and his partner, Shoutmon," Agent Nanase explained. "He is one of the generals that Omegamon spoke of when we first met. It is in a Digital World very close to his own that the war is taking place. They call it the 3rd Xros War. Taiki Kudo is the general of the Red Fusion Fighters, an army - or team if you'd prefer - of Digimon that banned together to fight evil Digimon that threatened the peace of their world. When young Kudo was first made a general during what is known as the first Xros War, his forces and others fought against the Bagra Army. But unlike the partner Digimon in our Digital World, his Digimon partner could not digivolve like Agumon does. Instead, Kudo fuses his partner Digimon with others to make him stronger."

Tai watched as the boy on the screen reloaded a bunch of Digimon he didn't know the names of (except for one he was sure was a Starmon) and cried out, "Digi-Xros!" The Digimon around the boy glowed and came together to become a transformer like Digimon called Shoutmon X4.

"Whoa," Tai gasped.

"Later on in the first war, Shoutmon gained the ability to digivolve into OmegaShoutmon," Gennai said, playing a clip of a fight that looked like it was taking place on earth instead of the Digital World against a samurai looking Digimon. The digivolution of Shoutmon into the golden OmegaShoutmon reminded Tai of when Agumon Warp Digivolved into WarGreymon. "However, as strong as OmegaShoutmon is, Taiki still needed to fuse his partner with other Digimon to finally beat Bagramon and his forces."

"So the reason I need to be able to bring other Digimon with me is because fusing is much more effective in those worlds than normal digivolving?" Tai asked.

"In a sense," Agent Nanase said.

"Remember Diaboromon?" Gennai asked.

"How could I forget?" Tai sighed.

"Did it not take WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon DNA digivolving together to defeat him that first time?" Gennai asked. "And for Exveemon and Stingmon to DNA digivolve into Paildramon Fighter Mode to defeat him the second time? And even then, Paildramon needed WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon to fuse with them in the form of a weapon to take him out. This is a very similar concept."

"I see," Tai mused. "But where do I find Digimon willing to fight with me?"

"I'm sure you'll pick some up along the way during your travels, like Taiki Kudo did," Gennai said, smiling reassuringly. "However, I do have some volunteers."

"You do?" Tai asked. "Who?"

Gennai grinned and the next image Tai saw on screen was a video feed of four Digimon he knew very well from his past adventures.

"It's Andromon and Centarumon!" Tai cried.

"And Wizardmon and Leomon," Agumon gasped.

"They all wish to help you in your travels across the Multiverse," Gennai said.

"That's awesome you guys!" Tai said. "Thank you so much."

"Are you ready for your first assignment?" Agent Nanase asked.

"Wait, already?" Tai gasped.

"It's a small task to help you get used to traveling through the Multiverse," the DATS Agent said. "I'm dispatching you to the dimension that is designated as the Tamers Dimension. I want you to deliver one of Gennai's new Xros Loaders to Mitsuo Yamaki of Hypnos. He needs one to modify for another DigiDestined general that'll be joining you in the 3rd Xros War effort. Because our worlds are so close together in the Dimensional Corridor, you'll likely be working with his world's representative a lot."

"Alright," Tai said. "When do I need to leave?"

"Tomorrow," Gennai said. "You'll need to pack. Plan on staying in the other world for a few days. I'll debrief you more when you come to the Digital World tomorrow."

"We're giving you the rest of the day off," Agent Nanase said, "to allow you to sort out everything you might need to arrange while you're gone."

"Meaning I'd better turn all my college course work in ahead of time," Tai sighed. "Some day off."

"I'm sure you'll do fine," Agent Nanase laughed. "Don't you usually start all your work the day it's assigned anyway?"

"So I don't forget about it, yeah," Tai grumbled. "Come on, Agumon."

* * *

So what do you think? You can find another sneak peek at this new story at the end of the chapter 31 of Drowning Memories. Please let me know in a comment as to which dub I should use the names of. As you can see I'm kind of leaning more towards a mix, but I feel confident enough to pull of using either version, though for English, Fusion/Xros Wars is going to be tricky because part 3 of the Xros Wars/Fusion series was never dubbed in English, so Tagiru doesn't have an official English name like the others (not that Takato or Takuya were given one either, but still). :P

Thanks for reading!


	22. Chapter 21: Unknown Forces at Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously on Digimon: Digital Monsters...
> 
> Frontier World - Umi and Rikuto spirit evolve for the first time and after training for the day, a Tyrannomon goes on a rampage. He’s being controlled by a black ring so the four new Warriors try to destroy it before he can reach Flame Terminal. It takes a lot of effort but they manage in the end.
> 
> Tamers World - Alice and her team don’t have a lot of luck finding the lock for the 3rd level this time even with a lot of help from the level’s inhabitants. They think they might have a better lead after speaking to a Drimogemon and wait for him to return with more tunnelers to help dig up the way to the next level.
> 
> Adventure World - The parents watch Tai, TK and Koichi’s confrontation with Paressemon in the tunnels. After Tai’s injuries are taken care of, Jim, Jun, Montarou, Momoe and Chizuru are offered a chance to become DigiDestined too and leave with Gennai to meet their new partners.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo Hoo! Chapter 21 is now here! I'm actually really proud of how often I've been able to update this fic. :)
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy!
> 
> I DO NOT OWN DIGIMON ADVENTURE, 02, TAMERS, FRONTIER, OR SAVERS!

**Tamers Digital World: Location: Level 3 - Tunnels**

The travelers got in a few hours of rest before Drimogemon showed up with three other Drimogemon and two Digmon. They then proceeded to where the first Drimogemon had sensed that energy and excavation began. The digging Digimon went first burrowing with their drills to carefully pick through the dirt walls. The Labramon were small enough to work around the Drimogemon and Digmon and made sure to keep their foot space clear. 

Minami watched the little dog Digimon sadly, reminded of  Seasarmon when he’d dedigivolved. She hadn’t known his Rookie name before. Apparently, according to Alice and Babamon, it was possible for Rookie Digimon to have more than one branch of Digivolution to follow. It all depended on the Rookie’s personality, where it lived, and what circumstances figured into their Digivolving process. 

She was broken out of her thoughts when one of the Digmon’s drills squealed and had to be yanked out.

“Wow za!” cried the Digmon in a feminine voice.

“Ya alright?” the other Digmon asked, in a southern sounding male accent, not unlike the Cody kid’s digimon when he armor digivolved into Digmon.

“Fine!” the female Digmon laughed, having a similar twang to her accent. “Just ran my drill inta somethin’ an’ it startled me iz all.”

The Labramon and Dobermon took over, digging away around the obstruction until their soft paws uncovered a metal wall. From there the excavation team worked on finding it’s edges and slowly but surely managed to uncover a huge metal shaft of some sort. 

“Well, we found the lift,” Kai sighed as they stood in front of a pair of doors that led into the structure they’d uncovered. “But how do we get in?”

“Ya can’t,” said the female Digmon. “Them doors iz magnetized. Ya’ll need ta get tha power workin’  before ya kin get in.”

“The power?” Alice repeated.

“Sure!” the male Digmon said. “We may’ve found tha life, but we need ta find tha power generator ta turn it on.” 

“Of course,” Alice muttered. “We found the lift, but it’s not the source of the energy Drimogemon had sensed is it?”

“Nope,” the head Drimogemon said. “That thing’s deader than a doornail.”

“So no power is running through it at all,” Minami mused. 

“The power generator must be nearby though,” GrapLeomon said. “It wouldn’t do any good to be so far away from the thing it’s supposed to be powering.”

True,” Drimogemon said. “We’ll continue to dig in the area.”

The group settled down again while the digging Digimon worked. Many were taking the chance to rest a bit more now that they were used to the noises of the drilling team and some even were able to fall asleep. Minami and Alice marveled that Kai and Monochromon were two such individuals, snoring away.

An hour later one of the Drimogemon and a Labramon working next to it hit something and were sent skittering back a ways by a shock.

“Found it!” Drimogemon cried with a groan while the Labramon just whimpered.

Minami wasn’t sure why, but she jumped to her feet and rushed to the dog digimon’s side.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

“That wasn’t fun,” Labramon groaned, his voice a little high, though whether that was his normal tone or because he was in pain, Minami wasn’t sure yet.

“Are you hurt anywhere?” she asked.

“No, but I ache all over,” he huffed.

“And I’m fine, thanks for asking,” the Drimogemon groaned, getting back on it’s feet unsteadily. Minami blushed, realizing that she’d been so focused on the hurt Labramon, that she forgot to ask how Drimogemon - who’d looked like he’d taken more of the shock - was doing.

“Don’t be stupid,” another Drimogemon scoffed. “You took a shock to the nose. Go sit down and let the Palmon look you over.”

The first Drimogemon huffed, but complied, waddling over towards the large group waiting. Minami scooped up the Labramon and followed, knowing that he should be looked over as well. The Palmon, Hawkmon, and Armadillomon made sure the Drimogemon and Labramon were both taken care of and once Minami was sure that both were alright, she left to rejoin Alice and an awakened Kai.

“How are they?” Alice asked.

“They’ll be fine,” Minami said. “The Palmon had an assortment of slaves on hand and were able to treat them.”

Alice nodded before returning her attention to the digging effort. The remaining three Drimogemon and the two Digmon were standing back and letting the Dobermon and Labramon dig around what Minami assumed was the generator they’d been looking for.

“After what happened to those two,” Alice said, noticing Minami’s stare, “it was determined that further digging with metal drills was unwise, so the canine Digimon are handling it.” 

“But that Labramon doesn’t have any metal on him,” Kai said. “Why’d he get shocked?”

“He was too close to Drimogemon when his nose drill hit the generator,” Alice explained. “He got what I suppose you could call secondary sock. Even Drimogemon’s toenails are metal drills, so Labramon must have been next to or working over one of his feet.”

Minami looked over to where that Labramon was being treated and saw that he was looking at her as well. He cocked his head to the side curiously. Minami smiled at him before returning her attention to the digging efforts. 

Half an hour later the power generator was cleared and cleaned off enough for examination. A couple of Hawkmon fussed around with it for a while before flipping a few switches. At first nothing happened, but then the lift shaft they’d uncovered earlier began to hum, a shuddering clanging was heard from within before it began to whine with power and small inset lights around it began to light up. They blinked red at first but then turned green, much like the previous level locks had done before opening.

“It works!” cheered the teams.

The whining from the lift continued, much like a normal elevator did as the lift traveled down the shaft to them. They could tell when it reached them when there was a loud pinging sound, but when the lift doors opened, it wasn’t empty. Inside were three Dark Tyranomon. They reared their heads back and bellowed loud roars that shook the tunnels before charging out of the lift at them. Minami screamed, letting Alice yank her away behind Monochromon who roared back at the other dino Digimon and charged, pushing one away from the humans while GrapLeomon dealt with the second one, and Jijimon and Babamon tag teamed the third one.

Monochromon, however, being only a Champion level Digimon could only hold his own for so long against an Ultimate level Digimon like Dark Tyranomon. Kai, Alice and Minami could only watch as Dark Tyranomon dug in its heels, stopping Monochromon’s charge and tossed him aside before lashing out with it’s claws. Before it could make contact with Monochromon, however, the two Digmon were suddenly there, blocking it with their drill hands. Dark Tyranomon roared as he pushed them back and swiped them away into Monochromon with its tail.

“There’s gotta be something I can do,” Kai growled, reaching into his pants pocket to pull out a case with Digimon cards inside. Minami peeked over his shoulder to see what cards he had, while also nervously glancing around at the fights.

Jijimon and Babamon were dealing with their Dark Tyranomon alright, and GrapLeomon was being supported by the Drimogemon and a few Cerberumon against the second, while the two Digmon and Monochromon were working well together to keep the third Dark Tyranomon from reaching the others. 

“Ah ha!” Kai cried, picking out a card before showing it to Alice. “What do you think?” 

Minami looked over at the card just before Alice nodded and Kai swiped it through his D-Power. 

“Digi-Modify! MegaSeadramon’s Lighting Javelin activate!” 

Monochromon startled, before grinning. His horn sparked as he rammed into the Dark Tyranomon, the lighting attack firing into the dino’s chest. The two Digmon were quick to follow up and launch their Gold Rush attacks. The virus digimon roared in pain before shattering into data bits, which Monochromon absorbed. That was one down.

The Cerberumon pack had now joined Jijimon and Babamon’s efforts and soon had their Dark Tyranomon down as well, quickly followed by the third and final Dark Tyrannomon who didn’t stand a chance against all the Digimon that had ganged up on it. GrapLeomon delivered the finishing blow himself, looking quite satisfied as he absorbed his foe’s data. 

“Well that was exciting,” Minami said shakily.

“We certainly weren’t expecting an attack after opening the way to the next level,” Alice agreed, also looking shaken.

“It’s not going to get any easier from here is it?” Kai sighed.

“No,” Alice said grimly before addressing all the Digimon around them. “Quite the opposite I’d imagine. If anyone wants to turn back now and head back to their level, we’ll understand.”

“Not likely, missy,” Jijimon huffed. “We Level 1 Digimon are sticking with ya.”

There were shouts of agreement from the Chuchidarumon, Jagamon, Infermon, and Diaboromon that had come with them from Level 1.

“We’re not backing down neither,” croaked the Gekomon leader of the guard that had come with them from Level 2. “We promised ShogunGekomon we’d see you through to the Sovereign.”

“Thank you,” the three human children said, bowing to their faithful traveling companions.

“And we’ll be joining you as well,” GrapLeomon said, stepping forward with a few squadrons of his level’s Cerberumon, Dobermon, and Labramon packs, as well as the two Digmon, and a group of Palmon. The rest of the dog Digimon pack, the Drimogemon, and the other members of the Level 3 search and dig teams bowed, wishing their leader luck.

“Are you sure it’s wise to take so many of your level’s fighting force with you?” Alice asked. “What if more Digimon like those Dark Tyranomon come through the lift?”

“Then we’ll be ready for them,” growled a Cerberumon among the pack staying behind.

“I’ve left orders with the other higher level Digimon in our city and they’re prepared,” GrapLeomon reassured. “I would be honored to join your group.”

“We’d be honored,” chorused the Digimon behind him, bowing.

“Wow, it really is like we’re gathering an army,” Kai chuckled.

Alice sighed, but was smiling all the same.

“We are grateful for your assistance,” Alice said, bowing back.

“Most grateful,” Minami said, also bowing.

“You guys have already proven you’re going to be useful in a fight,” Kai commented, grinning at Monochromon who grunted approvingly. “Welcome aboard!”

“So let us continue on to the next level,” Alice said before they all began to board the lift.

The lift was big, but not big enough, however, for everyone to ride up at once. It took three trips for everyone to make it up to Level 4, but they managed. After the dark tunnels and being underground for most of their stay on Level 3, it was a nice change to find themselves on a grassy field after the lift opened out of a tall hill. In the distance there were signs of a forest and there was a nice breeze in the air. The Digital World’s core would be seen clearly above them with three beams touching down far off in the distance.

“Well this is by far the most pleasant level we’ve been on so far,” Minami sighed.

“Pleasant doesn’t always mean safe, though, Minami,” Alice said, eyes scanning their surroundings. “We’re out in the open and we don’t know what kind of Digimon live on this level.”

“True,” Kai said, “But we might as well rest now while things are peaceful.”

“I agree,” GrapLeomon said. “Best break camp now and rest before venturing further and seeing what this level has to offer.”

And so the now very large group of Digimon and the three humans made camp and set up a watch guard before going to sleep.

 

**Adventure Digital World: Location: Gennai’s Base**

Jun Motomiya looked around in awe as she and the others were led through a part of the base they’d never been to before. Not that that was strange in itself because there was a lot of the base she was sure no one in her group - except perhaps Mr. Ishida - had seen since they had been living in only a small part of it. This area of the base was full of Digimon moving around in addition to all of the digital men that looked like Gennai. Some were rather cute looking, like the flying pink Digimon with fairy wings, while others were rather scary, like the humanoid Digimon covered in flames.

They were led to the very back of the large space towards a counter where five digivices (like the ones her brother had) and five tiny Digimon were waiting for them. 

“Those are your new digivices and partners,” Gennai said as they went around a group of Digimon who looked like they were gathering supplies of some kind. “To be honest we’ve been working on this for a while now ever since MaloMyotismon’s defeat. A lot more children were selected to become DigiDestined after that event, and the five of you were candidates. Unfortunately, those younger than you were given a higher priority and were made DigiDestined before our worlds became sealed off from one another.”

“That’s right,” Jim mused from where he walked beside Jun. “There are thousands if not millions of DigiDestined children all over the world.”

“If that’s true why are none of them here having to deal with this mess?” Momoe asked. “Why just Tai and Davis’ teams here in Japan? Those two Americans only seem to have gotten dragged into this because they just happened to be with their group when they were all summoned to that other world.”

“It is because those children are unique,” Gennai sighed, glancing over his shoulder at Hiroaki and his team who were following just behind the teens. “Tai and his original team of 8 were the first DigiDestined chosen since Hiroaki Ishida’s time. They were the first of a new generation of DigiDestined. Davis and his group and all of the children chosen that became DigiDestined after that, had all witnessed and even interacted with Digimon during Myotismon’s reign of terror and the chaos that occurred afterwards with the Dark Masters when this world could be seen in your world’s sky and vice versa. I believe that the groups that were summoned to that other world, were chosen specifically by the Digital Deities that oversee that Digital World. They had to have known of the success those children had at facing and destroying our world’s enemies and hoped that those same children could succeed in facing their world’s enemies as well. ”

“That doesn’t explain why other already established DigiDestined aren’t here right now like we are,” Montaru said, frowning.

“It’s because we can’t reach them,” Gennai sighed. “I’m actually surprised we were able to reach Michael and Willace’s parents before communication and travel between our worlds was completely severed.”

“Can’t you reach out and get in touch with some of them, like you did with us?” Mr. Yoshimura asked, his Agumon nodding next to him.

“Not as we are right now,” another digital man said, joining their group as they finally reached the counter where the new partner Digimon and digivices were awaiting them. “Those Control Spires need to be dealt with first before we can even attempt to reach the other DigiDestined of the world.”

“So let's get started,” Mr. Hiroko said, his Tentomon buzzing in agreement.

“Let’s introduce the new DigiDestined to their partners first,” Gennai suggested, picking up the digivice on the end of the counter closest to him. It’s grip was a dark navy blue that almost looked grey. He handed it to Jim. The device lit up, it’s screen flashing before darkening once more.

“It has accepted you. Excellent,” Gennai said, looking relieved, before turning to the partner Digimon. The little guy had a grey body that reminded Jun of a seal with bright blue eyes and a fiery orange tuft of fur on the top of it’s head.

“This is your partner, Bukamon,” Gennai said, and Jun and the others watched in amazement as the little guy  _ flew _ off the counter to hover in front of Jim’s astounded face.

“Nice ta meetcha!” the little guy said, waving a flipper. Jim tentatively shook the flipper.

Gennai moved on to the next digivice - this one with a choral pink grip - and handed it to Jun. Like with Jim, the screen lit up before darkening, only now that she was holding it, she could see that it was now displaying the time on the screen. Her partner turned out to be a Bukamon as well, only this one spoke more timidly and had a female voice.

“Hello,” the girl Bukamon squeaked, bowing her head. “I’m so happy to finally meet you.”

“Likewise,” Jun said, bowing back.

Montarou’s digivice had an orange grip and his partner was a little yellow bird with orange eyebrows and a thick long tail of hair coming out of the top of his head called Chichimon. Momoe’s digivice had a plum purple grip and her partner was a green and brown chrysalis/caterpillar Digimon called Minomon. Chizuru’s Digivice had a light icy blue grip and her partner was called Koromon, a pink head with two streamers on the top of it’s head for ears, large red eyes and a large gaping mouth with a lot of teeth.

After getting introduced to their partner Digimon, the teens were then instructed to pair off with an adult DigiDestined. Jun found herself standing next to Mr. Yoshi and his Patamon. Jim was with Mr. Ishida and Gabumon, Momoe was with Mr. Hiroko and Tentomon, Montarou was with Mrs. Yoshimura and Biyomon, and Chizuru was with Mr. Yoshimura and Agumon who was already talking excitedly with Chizuru’s Koromon. Apparently Koromon tended to digivolve into Agumon. From there the pairs were divided into teams of four and paired off with some of the Digimon that they’d seen gathering supplies earlier.

Jun, Chizuru, Mr. Yoshi, Mr. Yoshimura and their Digimon partners were team one. Their guide was a large yellow teddy bear called Monzaemon. They were going to the forest sector where Monzaemon’s Toy Town was located to meet up with the locals before taking out those control spires that Gennai and Mr. Ishida had talked about.

Team two was Momoe, Montarou, Mrs. Yoshimura, Mr. Hiroko and their Digimon. They were leaving with a large centaure Digimon called, appropriately, Centarumon, to a jungle where some temple was and more Digimon that could help them deal with the control spires appearing in the area.

That left Jim, Mr. Ishida and their Digimon on team three with the tiny pink Digimon Jun had thought was cute earlier - Piximon, a Unicorn Digimon called Unimon, and a few more that she couldn’t remember the names of, but Mr. Ishida appeared to be familiar with them, having apparently traveled with them up the big mountain when he’d left the base the first time nearly a week ago.

“Our first priority is to deal with the Control Spires here on File Island,” Gennai said after the assignments were made. “Then we’ll make our way to Server Continent and deal with the trouble there. Be careful and keep an eye out for whoever might be building these things. Good luck. Team One, we’re approaching your stop so please be ready to depart.”

Jun and Chizuru picked up their partners and followed Mr. Yoshi and Mr. Yoshimura towards a large door neither girl had noticed before. They waved goodbye to the others (Chizuru getting quick hugs from her older brother and sister) before the massive door opened and revealed a large empty stretch of grassland with a forest just a kilometer or so ahead of them. Also in the distance was a tall black obelisk.

“So that’s a Control Spire,” Mr. Yoshimura mused.

“Don’t worry, Saito!” the man’s Agumon cried. “We’ll cut that thing down and reduce it to rubble.”

“Right!” Patamon, Koromon, and Bukamon cheered.

Chizuru and Jun smiled at the little guys’ enthusiasm.

“Lead the way, Monzaemon,” Mr. Yoshi said.

The large teddy bear nodded and began walking towards the forest. It was a little hard keeping up with the Digimon’s large strides, but they managed a lot better once they reached the forest and Monzaemon was forced to slow down to avoid knocking down too many trees. Jun was surprised to find out that Toy Town was a large area with many human buildings that looked like they’d be right at home in an amusement park like Disneyland. When they arrived, a bunch of block looking Digimon came racing out of the buildings to meet Monzaemon. Mr. Yoshi was kind enough to inform Jun and Chizuru that the Digimon were called Toy Agumon. 

It wasn’t until the initial hubbub died down that the girls noticed a small Digimon that came up to the Toy Agumon’s shoulders. He also looked like a teddy bear, though he clearly resembled a panda rather than an ambiguous kind of bear like Monzaemon. 

“I’m glad you’ve returned, Monzaemon,” the little bear Digimon said. “The Toy Agumon have reported that there are five Control Spires in the area.”

“When did they appear, Pandamon?” Monzaemon asked.

“Overnight, sir,” Pandamon said. “Two appeared yesterday, much closer to the town, but we’ve already dealt with them.”

“Any idea of who’s behind this?” Mr. Yoshimura asked, stepping forward with Agumon.

“None,” Pandamon sighed.

“Have any Digimon in the area been acting weird or been seen wearing dark rings?” Mr. Yoshi asked.

“Not yet,” Pandamon said, “but it may only be a matter of time.”

“It’s just like it was when the Digimon Emperor appeared,” muttered a Toy Agumon near where Jun and Chizuru were standing.

“No, that happened a lot faster,” another Toy Agumon said. “I heard that as soon as the first few towers were up, the Digimon Emperor was capturing Digimon left and right. No one’s gone missing or started attacking yet.”

“True.”

Mutterings and conversations were starting to circle around the group of worried Digimon.

“We should deal with the Control Spires first,” Mr. Yoshimura said, speaking up above the buzz of conversation.

“Agreed,” Monzaemon said. “I’ll take a patrol of Toy Agumon to a spire and Pandamon will take another with a patrol of his own.”

“And we’ll do the same,” Mr. Yoshimura said. “Haru, you and Jun head for the one we saw on our way to the forest. I’ll take Chizuru and head for another. Then we’ll meet right back up here.”

“That’ll leave just one control spire in the area,” Monzaemon said. “Whichever groups make it back here first can decide amongst themselves who goes after that one. I also suggest that your groups take a patrol of Toy Agumon with you too.”

“Sounds good,” Mr. Yoshimura said as the Toy Agumon divided up into five groups. One group stayed behind in the town to act as a reserve in case reinforcements were needed at one of the spires.

Jun swallowed as she and her Bukamon partner followed Mr. Yoshi, Patamon and their Toy Agumon Patrol. This was it. Her first mission as a DigiDestined. She was both excited and petrified.

 

**Frontier Digital World: Location: Flame Terminal**

Umi groaned as she settled into a chair back at their small house in Flame Terminal. The Tyranomon that they’d fought had been confused and very apologetic after Riku and Yutaka had destroyed the ring on the digi-dino’s tail. Tyrannomon had informed them that he had been traveling on his way to Flame Terminal to see the new Warrior of Fire shine and had been passing through a cave system of some kind further north before blacking out and recovering his senses in the canyon the Warrior DigiDestined had fought him in. 

“So now what?” she asked, looking over at Shinya who was seated next to her and then over at Riku and Yutaka who were both still in their beds, being the most battered out of the four of them. She and Shinya had gotten off lightly having only to distract the possessed Tyrannomon out of reach.

“At the moment? Rest,” Yutaka sighed. “Sorcermon is looking over the remains of that ring and will get back to us.”

“Which’ll probably be soon,” Riku yawned. “The dude’s had all night. Betcha anything he’ll show up with Bokomon and Neemon when they return with breakfast.”

Not even a few minutes later, Bokomon and Neemon did indeed show up with Sorcermon in tow. Sorcermon didn’t say anything though until after they were eating.

“So what’s up, Sorcermon?” Shinya asked.

“What I’ve learned about this ring was most disturbing,” Sorcermon said solemnly. “I believe that the ring is not of this world.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Riku asked, frowning.

“You mean it’s alien?” Umi asked.

“Who needs aliens when there’s Digimon in the world,” Riku muttered. 

“What I mean is that it was not from our dimension,” Sorcermon said in a patient manner. “Though the design appears to resemble that of a Holy Ring, like the one that can be found on a Gatomon’s tail, it is a crudely made device with an evil purpose. It enslaves its wearer and turns them into a mindless puppet for whomever it is that created the ring. It also boosts the captive Digimon’s normal strength, hence why Tyrannomon was so large when you encountered him. However, I believe that because this device is so far away from its home dimension, the ring didn’t act as it was intended to. Tyrannomon was unruly and didn’t have a goal or target in mind, meaning that not only was he not in control of his actions, but no one else was either.”

“So what, this ring just happened to fall into our world and caused a good Digimon to go berserk for no reason?” Riku said, scowling.

“Essentially, yes,” Sorcermon sighed, nodding. “I believe that this warrants investigating.”

“Which I suppose you want us to do,” Yutaka sighed.

“Yes,” Sorcermon said. “Though you all could use more formal training, I believe experience is only something that you can truly get by journeying around the Digital World. The caves that Tyrannomon passed through happen to be on the way to Ophanimon’s Castle. It’ll be a bit of a journey, but I’m sure it’ll be well worth it. You still need to find your Beast Spirit counterparts after all and I’m sure they’ll reveal themselves along the way.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll be your guide,” Bokomon said, and Neemon nodded enthusiastically beside him.

 

“Our stay here sure didn’t last very long,” Umi sighed as she helped the others gather supplies for their journey after Sorcermon left.

“It really didn’t,” Shinya laughed. “Taka and I’ve only been here a couple more days than you have.”

“So what’s Ophanimon’s Castle like?” Umi asked. “You’ve been there before, right?”

“Yes. It’s like something out of a fairy tale,” Shinya said. “It’s got all sorts of Digimon moving about inside, there are murals of the other’s first adventures here, and then there is Lady Ophanimon, who’s this really pretty angel Digimon. She’s really nice and was the one who asked us to become the new Warriors of Wood and Steel.”

“Your parents are there too, aren’t they?” Umi asked.

Shinya looked a little sad as he nodded. “Yeah. Mom and Dad are there. They didn’t want me to leave, but I left anyway. I… I just couldn’t stay there after… after my brother died. Not with all those murals around reminding me what a hero he was.”

Umi bit her lip, knowing that Takuya’s death still left a huge open emotional wound on the boy. Umi wasn’t sure what she would do if that had happened to Riku. She found herself hugging Shinya.

“We’ll make him proud,” she whispered. “We’ll make all of them proud.”

“Yeah,” Shinya sniffed before pulling away and putting on a brave smile. “We will.”

“Are you two ready?” Yutaka asked, shouldering his pack.

“Ready!” the younger two cheered.

Umi was surprised when Shinya grabbed her hand and pulled her along with him on the way out, but squeezed the younger boy’s hand reassuringly. He squeezed back before letting go and like that they were off. Bokomon and Neemon were in the lead and Riku and Yutaka brought up the rear. Umi waved goodbye to the Digimon that they passed on their way out of the Digimon village, excited to start exploring this strange new world.

It wasn’t long before they left the forest behind and found themselves traveling along some train tracks through open country under a bright blue sky. The Digital World was truly amazing in Umi’s eyes. In spite of all the strange and scary Digimon out there, there were so many more cute and nice Digimon too. And the land in the small section of the Digital World that she’d seen so far was like something out of a story book.

She knew that it all wouldn’t be as nice as it had been so far. The fight with Tyrannomon was proof enough - and they were just beginning! - but Umi knew that they could handle it. She hadn’t known Yutaka and Shinya long, but they were already good friends. She and Shinya especially. Even though he was four years younger than she was, the two of them got along great. Riku and Yutaka got along really well too. It was funny. Umi felt as if she’d gained another older brother and a little brother.

“Umi! Look!” Shinya suddenly cried out excitedly, pointing towards a canyon where the tracks went right over the edge along a narrow bridge over to the other side.

“How is that possible?!” she gasped. “How can that small bridge and track support a train?! Wouldn’t it break the moment the train begins to cross?”

“I don’t know how, but anything is possible in the Digital World it seems,” Yutaka sighed. “Shinya and I took the Trailmon over these same tracks on our way here from Breezy Village.”

“How are we gonna get across?” Riku asked, looking at the bridge.

“We could walk across,” Shinya suggested. “Just stay in the middle.” 

“And what happens if one of us falls?” Umi gulped, looking down over the ledge to see how far down it went. It went pretty far, though there appeared to be a river snaking through. “None of our spirit forms can fly.”

“It’ll take a while, but I suggest we take the trail down into the canyon, cross over down there and climb back up the other side,” Yutaka suggested, pointing out a winding path a little ways away from where they were standing.

“Great idea, young man,” Bokomon cheered. “That’s just what Takuya and the others did when we came this way. In fact, if I remember right, there is a Candlemon Village down below.”

“Our brothers traveled this way?” Yutaka asked.

“Indeed,” Bokomon said. “We’re practically retracing their footsteps. If memory serves, down there is where Tommy found the spirit of Kumamon, the Warrior of Ice.”

“Think we might find one of our Beast Spirits down there?” Umi asked.

“Who knows?” Neemon said shrugging.

“Why don’t we just move on and find out rather than speculating?” Riku suggested and led the way down the path into the canyon.

It was a long trip down, but nearing sunset they reached the bottom and crossed over what turned out to be more of a stream than a river. On the other side they found some interesting carvings in the cliffside wall of what looked like an angel and a circle of ten symbols. Umi recognized a few of them, namely the Warrior Symbols for Fire, Water, Earth, Steel, and Wood.

“Ah, the carvings of Lucemon and the Ten Legendary Warriors,” Bokomon sighed. “That brings back memories, and not all of them pleasant ones. We didn’t know back then that Takuya and the others would have to fight Lucemon like the original Ten Legendary Warriors did.”

Umi listened as Bokomon began telling them all about the other six children’s fight against Crusadermon and Dynasmon while they made their way towards the winding path that would take them back up the canyon. Before they got there, however, they ran into a couple of Digimon that looked like candlesticks.

“Candlemon!” Bokomon cried. “How have you been?”

“It’s Bokomon!” one of the Candlemon said. “And Neemon.”

“What are you two doing here? And who are they? They look like humans,” the second Candlemon piped up.

“We’re on our way north to investigate something on our way to Lady Ophanimon’s Castle,” Bokomon said, spine straightening with importance. 

Umi swallowed back a giggle. For a little guy he was sure full of self-importance and purpose. It’d be annoying if it weren’t so funny.

“And these are humans,” Bokomon continued. “They are the new Warriors of Earth, Water, Steel and Wood.”

“New Warriors?!” the Candlemon cried.

“Indeed,” Bokomon said, chest puffing out with pride. “And Neemon and I are their escort.”

“Whoa,” the Candlemon awed.

“It’s getting late, though,” the first one said.

“Surely you must rest,” the other cried.

“Please come stay the night at our village!” they said together and bowed. “We’d be honored.”

“What do you think?” Yutaka asked the others.

“We have been traveling all day,” Riku mused.

“Maybe they know something about the caves we’re heading to and what happened to Tyrannomon,” Shinya said.

“It couldn’t hurt to learn more about the area,” Umi mused. “I say let's take them up on their offer. I don't really want to do any climbing or hiking in the dark anyway.”

“True,” the three boys said in unison before turning to the Candlemon.

“We accept,” Yutaka said.

The Candlemon cheered and led them further down the canyon where they came to a series of small caves in the cliffside where dozens more Candlemon flooded out to greet them and prepared a feast. The Candlemon chief was very hospitable and informed them of his people’s previous encounter with Warrior DigiDestined and regaled them with the tale of Agunimon and Kumamon’s fight against Wizardmon.

Umi kept an eye on Shinya throughout the story and saw the conflicting emotions that showed on his face as he listened to the candle Digimon tell them about one of Takuya’s numerous heroic tales. She made sure to sleep near Shinya when they bedded down for the night. She woke when she sensed him stirring in his sleep, and reached out and held his hand. The boy whimpered softly in his sleep, but settled down. Umi smiled when she spotted Yutaka’s arm wrapping around the boy from where he slept behind Shinya. It made her more aware of where Riku was sleeping only inches away, feeling a faint hint of his body heat. Content, satisfied, and surrounded by her brother and new friends, Umi slipped into a peaceful sleep.

 

**Tamers Human World: Hypnos HQ**

Mizuo Yamaki sighed, watching the monitors as the children set up camp for the night. It had been a really stressful day after Tai, TK and Koichi had been attacked by one of the Zaigou in the middle of the previous night. When Tai had been stabbed, all of the parents who’d been awake at the time had really freaked out. Many of them had rushed off to check their children’s channels if only to reassure themselves that their children were safe. Everyone could only imagine how Tai’s parents were handling things. 

It had been bad enough when Takuya had been killed a week ago (Gods, had it only been a week?), but even though the boy’s death had been very traumatizing, his death had been relatively quick. With Tai, they hadn’t known if he was going make it until late morning. And if the teen’s situation weren’t bad enough, no one knew what was going on with TK and Koichi. Though Koji seemed to be sure that his twin and TK were fine because of some psychic bull, they couldn’t know for sure because their channels were as black as Takuya’s. Their fates were unknown and that was almost worse than what was going on with Tai. Tai, they could at least monitor his condition by watching his or Joe’s channel.

It was a huge relief though, that Joe had proved to be an excellent medic and Tai had recovered well enough to travel that afternoon. All of the parents were still a little on edge, however, because that was five kids now that had been singled out and attacked by the Zaigou, and none of them had been one of their children yet. With everything that was coming at these kids, it was only a matter of time before one of their children got hurt.

Which was why Yamaki was so relieved when his communications device beeped that evening, informing him that he had received another report from Alice and her group. Two of them in fact. The first one was a short missive informing him that they’d made it to the third level of the Digital World. The second one was a lot longer and gave him something good to tell the parents, which now included the families of the three children they’d sent to their Digital World to find the Sovereign. 

According to Alice, Kai had a partner now. That was good. At least one of those kids had a partner to help them on their journey. Not that finding help seemed to be an issue for them. They appeared to not have run into any danger at all so far. He wasn’t sure how much of their travels were left out of the reports, but they didn’t seem to be having a lot of problems. According to Alice, they would be on their way to Level 4 when he got her reports due to the fact that apparently unlocking a level allowed communications between the worlds to go through until they reached the next locked level.

Happy to have something good to report, he made his way out of the monitoring room down to the communal floor where the families were staying. It was just after dinner time and most would be getting ready to settle down for the night. When he got there he saw Janyu with his family. The Nonakas were there with the Matsukis and a few of the other parents as well.

“Yamaki?” Janyu said, getting up from his seat. “Is everything alright?”

That got a lot of attention from the families fast and they all gathered around.

“Everything is as well as it can be for the moment,” Yamaki reassured. “I just wanted to inform you all that I received another report from Alice, Kai and Minami informing me that they have unlocked another level in the Digital World and are traveling to the next one.”

The McCoys looked relieved. 

“What did the report say?” Dolphin demanded. He’d been a little high strung since Alice’s departure to the Digital World with the other two children. Every attack on Takato and his group in the other Digital World put the man even more on edge.

“That they are fine and have encountered no problems as of yet,” Yamaki told him. “In fact, Alice reports that Kai has found himself a partner Digimon. A Gotsumon, I believe.”

“What’s a Gotsumon?” Mie Matsuki asked.

“A mineral type data attribute Digimon,” Janyu explained, pulling up information on the Digimon from the TV show and video game series and showed the stats to those who wanted to see. “His special attack is rock fist and he’s known for being mischievous, making lower-leveled Digimon ally with him, and romping about the system like a jovial-natured sergeant. Although he’s known for being a little selfish, he will rage violently like a volcanic eruption once he gets angry. The aforementioned mineral type and data attribute will change depending on where he was born and bred, thus hiding the potential to digivolve into various beings.”

“That’s interesting,” Takahiro Matsuki mused. “Knowing Kai, you’d think he’d get a water type Digimon.” 

“I think it suits Kai perfectly,” Kai’s grandfather, Wataru Urazoe, said. “He can be hard headed and stubborn.” 

“True, Dad,” Mie chuckled. “Just like his father.”

“And Minami?” Takahito Uehara asked. 

“Is fine as far as I can tell,” Yamaki said. “As I said, they don’t appear to have run into any dangers or difficulties since starting their journey. They have gathered quite an escort of Digimon to join them in their travels along the way though. Alice says that Kai has taken to referring to their growing group as an army and they’re expecting even more Digimon to join them from the third level as they travel up to the fourth.”

“They’re making good progress,” Rumiko Nonaka mused. “They’ve only been gone a week and already they’ve managed to unlock 3 levels.”

“Out of 10,” Dolphin added more grimly. “They still have a ways to go.”

“But still!” Seiko Nonaka protested. “That’s one third of the way cleared.”

The others murmured in agreement. Yamaki held back a sigh of relief as he saw some of the tension that had been hanging around the whole day begin to lessen. He’d given them something positive to focus on and could only pray that Alice and her group continued to have the same good fortune and progress in the coming days. At least they were three kids they didn’t have to worry so much about… right?

~*~*~*~*~*~

Will Yamaki's prayers be answered? Will Alice, Minami and Kai's journey continue as smoothly as it has been? How will Jun and her friends be able to handle their first job as DigiDestined? And how will the new Warrior DigiDestined's journey and investigation go? I guess we'll just have to stay tuned and find out next time on Digimon: Digital Monsters!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what'd you think? I'm sorry that there was no Savers part this chapter. I really was going to write Savers, but my inner Masaru declared that they weren't ready yet and chucked Yamaki at me and told me that I should show some more parents (other than Hiroaki) in this story, which makes sense because this IS called Parent Worries. :P So blame my inner Masaru muse for there not being a Savers part, I guess. :P But now all groups are definitely moving forward now and I can't wait to write their adventures.
> 
> And now I feel the need to defend my choices for Jun, Jim, Mantarou, Momoe, and Chizuru's partners. I just want to say right off the bat that just because we have some repeat In-Training Digimon (which turned out to be the same in Jun and Jim's case), that doesn't mean that their digivolutions are going to follow the same paths. You'll see next chapter what these little guys are going to be digivolving into. I honestly put a lot of thought into what digimon would be partnered with these characters and I spent a good while going through the DMA (Digital Monsters Almanac) online to find good partners and digivolution lines to follow. Just trust me guys.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the chapter! See you next time!


	23. Chapter 22: Attack on the DigiDestined

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously on Digimon: Digital Monsters...
> 
> Tamers Digital World - The tunneling group manages to excavate the lift and power source but are confronted by a trio of Dark Tyrannomon. After dealing with the attackers, they take the lift up to level 4.
> 
> Adventure World - The teenagers get their digivices and partners and leave the base paired off with one of the adult digidestined to investigate and take out the control spires.
> 
> Frontier World - After recovering from their fight with Tyrannomon, they’re informed that the ring controlling Tyrannomon isn’t from their dimension, so on the way to Ophanimon’s castle, they head for the caves where Tyrannomon last remembers traveling.
> 
> Tamers Human World - Yamaki receives Alice’s latest reports and gives the parents there some much needed good news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy cow this chapter got long. So much started happening that the next thing I knew, I had 19 pages with more plotted out, so I decided that I was going to have to split this chapter in half, but it still ended up 14 pages long! I wish my UGotD chapter was this long, but se la vi!
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy!
> 
> I DO NOT OWN DIGIMON ADVENTURE, 02, TAMERS, FRONTIER, OR SAVERS!

**Frontier Digital World: Location: Candlemon Village **

When Yutaka woke up the next morning in the Candlemon Village, he and the others were treated to a nice warm meal for breakfast. Before they resumed their travel plans, however, a pair of Candlemon returned from morning patrol in a panic, talking about a strange light in "the cave."

Intrigued, the new Warrior DigiDestined decided to check things out before continuing their journey and followed the Candlemon to help investigate. "The cave" turned out to be a hole in the cliff wall near the river reachable by only a small ledge of rocks. It was where Tommy had discovered the spirit of Kumamon according to Bokomon and Neemon, only now the cave wasn't covered in ice. It was just a bunch of normal rock walls, but further in, there was a faint glow.

As the DigiDestined approached the light, a beam of yellow energy shot forth and would have hit Umi, if Shinya and Rikuto hadn't tackled her to the ground. Instead, the beam clipped Rikuto's shoulder, causing the young man to cry out in pain.

Yutaka didn't hesitate and transformed into Tetsukomon, deflecting more beams with his mirror shields, allowing his friends to recover. In a few seconds an angry looking Ningyomon was standing beside him and Mokuseimon was returning fire with his bow from a crouched position on his other side over Rikuto, who was clutching his shoulder.

The poor Candlemon, Bokomon and Neemon cried out in alarm and took cover behind some rocks.

"You two stay here and lay down some cover fire. I'm going to try and get closer," Tetsukomon said, moving forward minutely behind his shields.

Ningyomon looked like she wanted to protest, but nearly got hit by another beam of light and growled a reluctant "Fine." Mokuseimon only nodded and tried to maneuver Riku towards the Candlemon, Bokomon and Neemon.

"Light Reflector!" Tetsukomon shouted, allowing one of his shields to absorb a number of the light beams and aimed with his other shield and sent the energy right back at the attacker. The cave shook and some debris fell from the ceiling, but all was quiet for a moment.

"Is it over?" Ningyomon asked, looking shocked from where she and the others were taking cover.

Then there came a terrible whining sound, like something powering up, before a large blast of light came streaking out at Tetsukomon. The Warrior of Steel had instinctively brought up both shields before impact, but was still flung across the cave and into a wall.

"Taka!" Mokuseimon cried. "Are you alright?"

Before Tetsukomon could respond another bolt of energy raced toward him and rammed against his still raised shields, crushing him into the cave wall.

The others stared on in horror as a massive shape slowly emerged from the back of the cave. It was a large hulking shape, very draconian in appearance, like what they'd seen of BurningGreymon, only this creature looked like it'd been fused with a machine. It's wings were great sheets of metal made to look like folded fan-like wings, each blade shaped like a long feather. The glowing yellow eyes were bright pinpricks of light shining out of a metal skull-like faceplate. Tubes and gears pulsed and worked around a metal jaw, pumping and hissing as the creature moved.

While everyone else was staring at the monstrosity, Tetsukomon recovered and managed to pry himself out of the cave wall with a near silent groan.

"What is that thing?" Rikuto grunted, holding his injured shoulder. Mokuseimon and Ningyomon only stood there, shaking in shock.

"I'm afraid I don't know, lad," Bokomon said softly, "but now might be a good time to retreat."

No sooner had Bokomon said that, the creature launched another attack, twin beams of light shooting out of it's yellow eyes, a loud steamy hiss screeching after it. Ningyomon and Mokuseimon finally snapped out of it and grabbed Rikuto, the Candlemon, and Bokomon and Neemon in time to dart out of the way.

"Get them out of here!" Tetsukomon shouted as he dove  _toward_  the monster and further threw the thing's aim off course. That resulted in him getting smacked across the cave by one of the metal wings, which nearly tore through the armor covering his arm.

Tetsukomon stared in shock at the shredded plating. Nothing he'd come across so far (which admittedly wasn't a lot) had been able to even make a dent or a scratch on his armor plating. It was made of the toughest chrome digizoid armor that only some of the most powerful megas had, like WarGreymon. Or so Bokomon had said. For this creature to have the ability to just tear through it like tissue paper it had to be made of the same metal.

"Yutaka!"

Tetsukomon just barely dodged another blow from the metal dragon creature, but the result of the attack brought down the entrance to the cave. Tetsukomon managed to wedge himself into a hollow in the wall (more than likely formed from one of the monster's previous attacks) and crouched down behind his shields forming a barrier above and in front of himself. The entire cave shook as parts of it collapsed.

When the dust began to settle, Tetsukomon couldn't see anything, meaning that the mouth of the cave had collapsed, so he listened carefully. He could hear a soft sound, like sand and small fine rocks sliding as they sifted and fell. He heard rocks shift and groan as the structure of the cave settled. Then he heard a sound that made his insides freeze. He heard the low soft hiss of steam and clack of gears whirring. The cave had collapsed, leaving Tetsukomon trapped alone with the metal dragon. 

 

**Adventure Digital World: Location: Temple of the Digivice **

Yumi looked around in awe at the temple before her. It reminded her of ancient Mayan architecture or something like it. The surrounding jungle made her feel like she was in an Indiana Jones movie. Biyomon didn't seem to find it awe worthy though, and was instead speaking with Tentomon and the new kids and their partner Digimon. Momoe and Montarou were staring at all of the Digimon around the area so Biyomon and Tentomon were telling the teens about them.

Keisuke was talking with Centarumon, discussing the locations of three Control Spires in their area. There was a group of Otamamon and Gekomon that had patrolled the area and had found the spires. One was in a swampland to the south of them, another was north of them a little bit up the mountains, and the third one had appeared overnight to the west in the desert between the Temple and the Yokomon Village.

"Sounds like a plan," Yumi could hear Keisuke say before approaching her and the teens.

"What's up?" Yumi asked.

"We're going to separate into two groups," Keisuke said. "Momoe and I will head west to deal with the Control Spire in the desert. Yumi and Montarou, you two can head north to take out the spire in the mountains. A pair of Otamamon and Gekomon will act as your guide to show you where it is. Centarumon says he is going to deal with the Control Spire in the swampland since it's a rather treacherous area for those who don't know it. We'll meet back up here. If everyone is not back by sundown in a few hours, assume that those that haven't come back yet ran into trouble and go back them up after reporting to Gennai."

"Right," Yumi and the teens said.

Keisuke had Tentomon digivolve into Kuwagamon and their group flew off heading towards the desert.

"Ok," Yumi sighed. "Our turn. Biyomon?"

Biyomon nodded before turning into Hirotorimon, her red wings bright against the clear blue sky. Their Otamamon and Gekomon guides soon joined them and after Yumi helped Montarou and Chichimon onto Hirotorimon's back, they took off as well up the mountains close to where Keisuke and Saito had found their partners again with the little group of InTraining Digimon that lived in this mountain range.

"There!" the Otamamon shouted in her ear so that she could hear him over the wind. His clawed hand pointed to a tall black needle looking thing poking out of the trees on the mountainside.

"Take us down, Tori!" Yumi cried.

Hirotorimon banked and landed in a clear area on the mountain just a little ways away from the spire. Then she dedigivolved into Biyomon again.

"Why didn't we just blast it from the sky and be done with it?" Montarou asked.

"Because of all the trees around it we don't know if there are any Digimon nearby. We wouldn't want to hurt them," Yumi said. "That, and we're supposed to investigate the area to see if we can find any clue as to who is building these things."

The teen only nodded in reply.

They began to hike their way over to the spire and didn't come across a single soul.

"Does it seem unnaturally quiet to you guys?" Yumi asked.

Biyomon nodded, looking concerned as she flew overhead. Suddenly she stopped and seemed to flap her wings in a distressed manner.

"There's no wind down here!" she cried before flying above the trees.

Chichimon was hovering closer to Montarou, looking around nervously.

Biyomon returned a few long minutes later.

"It's so strange!" she reported. "The wind is blowing in the sky but stops around this area just above the trees. It's like there is a barrier keeping the wind out."

"What's it mean?" Montarou asked.

"I'm not sure," Yumi said grimly. "But we're going to find out."

The six of them trekked further into the woods until they came upon the control spire.

"Biyomon, fly up and see if you can see anything around or on the spire," Yumi ordered.

Biyomon flew off, leaving the rest of them to look around the ground level. The Gekomon and Otamamon uncovered nothing after scouting around nearby and Yumi, Montarou and Chichimon could find nothing amiss with the spire on ground level.

"Strange," Yumi mused after everyone had returned. "Guess there's nothing left to do except destroy it. Biyomon?"

"Right!" The pink bird threw her wings out and began to glow yellow, but the glow didn't become the blinding light it usually did before a Digimon digivolved. "I...can't digivolve," Biyomon gasped.

"Rats," Yumi growled. "That means that the control spire is active. Gennai warned us that active control spires don't allow Digimon to digivolve in it's vicinity."

"So what do we do?" Montarou asked.

"We'll have to take it out, or at least damage it enough as we are," Yumi said.

Biyomon let out an irritated squawk before launching a number of Spiral Twisters at the control spire. Chichimon let loose a few fire ball attacks of his own, with Gekomon and Otamamon firing off attacks as well. The spire looked like it'd barely been scratched.

"This could take a while," Yumi huffed. "Let's hope that the others are having better luck than we are."

  

**Adventure Digital World: Location: Primary Village **

Jim had looked around at the village where Digimon were apparently born. It looked like someone had taken everything soft and colorful and designed a baby paradise. Elecmon, the village's caretaker, had met his group as soon as they'd departed from Gennai's base.

Just outside of what Jim assumed were the village's limits was a tall obelisk tower. According to Elecmon, there were four more spread out around the surrounding area. It hadn't taken long for their group to deal with that first tower with Piximon and Unimon's help. As soon as the tower was destroyed, Mr. Ishida's Gabumon digivolved into Houkomon, a wolf digimon that looked different from what Jim was used to seeing Matt Ishida's Gabumon digivolve into.

At the moment Mr. Ishida was talking with the Digimon, discussing who would go take care of what spire next. Piximon was going to take care of the nearest tower with Elecmon and a pair of Palmon to the north of the village, Unimon was leaving with another pair of Palmon to go deal with the spire to the east, and Ninjamon and a pair of Palmon were going to destroy the one further south. That left Jim, Mr. Ishida, their Digimon, and the last pair of Palmon to take the Control Spire to the west.

The trip was rather fast, due to riding on Houkomon, but as soon as they got close to the Control Spire, Houkomon let out a pained growl before shrinking into Gabumon again. Jim was quick to slide off of the shrinking Digimon.

"What happened?" Mr. Ishida asked, helping Gabumon up.

"I don't know. That's never happened before," Gabumon said, frowning up at the Control Spire.

Mr. Ishida was also glaring up at the obelisk.

Jim looked down at his digivice and noticed that it was completely shut off. Not even the time was displayed.

"Whatever that tower is, I think it shuts down our digivices," he reported.

"Damn," the man growled. "Looks like we're doing this the hard way. Come, on Gabumon."

They got up to the spire and began inspecting it while the Palmon scouted the surrounding area to see if they could find anything that might shine some light on who built these towering contraptions.

After their search efforts yielded nothing, they did their best to try damaging the spire. Gabumon, however, was the only one doing any real damage since the Palmon's only attacks involved using their roots, and poor Bukamon could only spit exploding bubbles.

  

**Tamers Digital World: Location: Level 4 - Grassy Plains **

"You know," Kai said as their group continued making their way across the open plains, "after being attacked by those Dark Tyrannomon, I expected this place to be filled with massive Dino Digimon."

"We've been travelling all day and we haven't come across a single Digimon," Minami agreed.

"Or anything for that matter," Monochromon growled. "No rocks, no trees, no water… Just flat grassland for as far as the eye can see. It's a good thing we're well supplied thanks to Grapleomon."

"It's a good thing this place is stuck in perpetual twilight," Alice said. "It'd be unbearable if the sun was beating down on us.

"True," Minami sighed, looking up at Jijimon and Babamon who were flying overhead on their broom and staff to see if they could spot anything.

If it weren't for their digivices they wouldn't be able to tell that time was passing at all. Nothing ever changed about their surroundings making it a really depressing level. They could have been walking in circles for all they knew, though Jijimon and Babamon reassured them that they weren't, pointing out the relatively straight stretch of trampled grassland behind them. Not even singing Disney songs managed to lighten the party's mood.

It was hours before they finally came upon a straightforward open spiral staircase that twisted up into the clouds.

"Is this it?" Kai asked. "Seriously? I mean, I get why no one is here. Nothing could possibly survive on this level. But is it really so simple to get to the next level?"

It appeared so. Nothing stopped anyone from going up the stairs. No one was attacked as they made their way up, but the hatch found at the top of the stairs - a seemingly simple trap door deal - was sealed up tight.

"Now what?" Minami asked.

"We could try to break it in," Kai suggested. "It's a wooden door."

"A wooden door with a lock," Alice said, pointing out a keyhole in the wood.

"How does that even work?" Minami asked. "It's in the wood, not a metal insert that is comprised of the gears and springs a basic lock requires."

"This is the Digital World," Alice said. "The only logic that applies to this door, is that you need a key to unlock it."

Kai only shrugged. "So we need a key. How do we find it? What do we even look for?"

"We'll have to establish a spiral search grid going out from around the base of the staircase," Alive reasoned. "So far all of the methods to unlock the way to the next level have been found near the doorway."

Everyone agreed and descended back down the stairs and began to search the grassy ground for a key of sorts. They must have searched for hours going round and rough and further out and away from the staircase before calling it a day. They'd mowed and trampled down an impressive ring around the staircase. Kai even commented that from a few stories up off the ground on the staircase it looked like a crop circles you see in crappy American alien movies.

Just as everyone was settling down to rest, the clouds above them suddenly turned grey and it began to rain.

"Well now we know why the grass is always green despite no evident sources of water," Kai mused.

"But even so, wouldn't there still be puddles, small lakes and rivers and things like that from erosion?" Minami said.

"Again, you're applying logic in the Digital World," Alice sighed. "I bet all this water just filters down to the lower levels."

"Ah, newsflash," Kai suddenly said, "but I think this sudden downpour is going to cause a flash flood."

"Why do you say that?" Minami asked.

"Because there's a tidal wave headed right for us!" he shouted.

The girls looked up and saw what looked like a huge wall of water coming at them in the distance. That got everybody scrambling, gathering up their supplies and racing for the spiral staircase. Those few that could fly were quick to snatch up the smaller Digimon and fly them up to higher points on the staircase before diving back down to retrieve others. Those larger Digimon, like the Chuchidarumon, Monochromon, and Diaboromon grabbed others as they raced up the stairs. Kai, Minami, and Alice all road aboard Monochromon's back as he hurried up at the front of the line. They were more than relieved to see that their party had made it up off the ground far enough to avoid getting swept away by the first wave.

They raced all the way up to the damn door that led into the clouds, looking out at what now looked like an ocean, rather than a never ending scape of grassland.

"Holy crap," Kai breathed. "If this is how the fourth level is, it's no wonder no one lives here. If living in the purgatory that is the grassland doesn't kill you, the flash floods will."

"And if that's a regular part of a cycle in how this level functions it's no wonder we didn't find any kind of key," Alice sighed. "It could be swept away to any corner of this level."

"So what can we do?" Kai asked. "Does that mean we have to wait for the sea to go down and start our search again? That could take forever! So much for these methods to unlock the way to the next level being close to their door."

"I don't' see why that's suddenly changed. It's not like the lock has been getting farther and farther away from the entrance. In fact, they've been getting kind of closer, haven't they? And technically we've found the lock. All we need is the key, but for the key to be located so far away seems kind of… wait… Oh, of all the stupid-!" Minami suddenly cried, smacking her forehead.

"Uh… Minami?" Kai said, staring at her.

"It's insanely simple," Minami huffed, reached up into the cloud above their heads that held the door, moving her hand around it until she snatched it back and revealed a gold key.

"Seriously?!" Kai shrieked. "The key was here all this time?!"

Alice chuckled tiredly, shaking her head. "Just unlock the door, Minami so that we can move on."

Minami huffed and did just that.

  

**Adventure Digital World: Location: Vending Machine Valley **

Saito watched with satisfaction as the damned Control Spire they'd been working on all afternoon finally began to spark after another barrage of attacks from Agumon, and their ToyAgumon patrol.

"Hey! My digivice is back on!" Chizuru cheered, waving said device up in the air, showing off that it's screen was indeed lit up.

"Awesome!" Saito cried, pulling out his own digivice and saw that it was blinking its display back at him. "Agumon! Let's barbeque this thing!"

"You got it, Sai!" Agumon said, before glowing yellow and digivolving into Greymon X.

Greymon X let out a challenging roar before he fired a Nova Blast at the spire, easily setting it ablaze. With a mighty, but well aimed swipe of his tail, the dino sent the tower toppling away from where everyone was standing.

"Alright!" Chizuru and her Koromon partner cheered. "They did it!"

"Let's head back everyone!" Saito called, grinning as he watched Greymon X stomp down on the tower, extinguishing his previous attack, but also getting satisfaction in destroying the tower even further. "Come on, Greymon, let's blow this pop stand!"

Greymon X grunted, indulging in one last vicious stomp before rejoining the group. Saito helped Chizuru climb aboard Greymon X's back, watching with amusement as the group of five Toy Agumon climbed up and sat along the tail.

"Take us back to Toy Town, old friend," Saito sighed. "With any luck, Haru and Jun are there waiting for us.

"Sorry that I wasn't much help," Chizuru said after a while, her Koromon nodding sheepishly. They were about halfway back to Toy Town.

"Hey, no biggie," Saito said, grinning. "You two searched all the vending machines in the area and kept watch to let us know if anyone was waiting to ambush us. It wasn't much of an exciting venture anyway."

"I have a feeling that that's about to change," Greymon X growled. "Haru and Patamon's Control Spire is still up, and I hear what sounds like a fight."

Without another word, Greymon X picked up the pace and began racing towards a section of woods where the tip of another Control Spire could be seen peeking up over the tops of the trees. The closer they got, Saito began to hear sounds of fighting as well.

Saito felt Greymon X tense, like he had earlier in the day just before he'd shrunk back into Agumon when they'd reached their designated Control Spire.

"Fire now!" Saito shouted.

It just showed how well they still worked together when Greymon X loosed a Nova Blast at what they could see of the control spire without question. The large dino began to glow, but Greymon X had hit the spire dead on and damaged it enough to prevent himself from dedigivolving.

"Hang tight!" Saito shouted, snapping his goggles on over his eyes as Greymon X moved to rush through the trees, knocking many of them over as he went. Saito could feel Chizuru flinch and press tighter into his side. He wrapped an arm around her as he pressed close to his partner's neck to avoid most of the whipping foliage.

It wasn't long before Greymon X crashed through into a clearing and the sound of fighting became clear to him. The Toy Agumon with them were quick to jump off Greymon's X's tail and rushed into the battle, spitting out cover fire, for their pinned down fellows. The attacking Digimon weren't like any Saito had ever seen before in his previous trip to the Digital World. They were gray rubber suited Digimon with a face mask that looked like some a gasmask. They had some kind of pack on their backs and wielded machine guns.

There was a bright flash of light before Piddomon suddenly appeared and began blasting the attacking Digimon into digital bits. Not far from where the angel Digimon had appeared, Saito could spot Haru, Jun, and the girl's Bukamon.

"There, Greymon!" Saito shouted, pointing out where their friends were.

Greymon X snarled, lashing out with his tail at the attackers as he waded through the battle.

"Are you guys alright?" Saito demanded, sliding off Greymon X's shoulder when they reached them.

"Shaken, but fine," Haru sighed. "They just keep coming."

"From where?" Saito asked.

"There," Jun said, pointing to the ruined control spire. The base of the obelisk was still intact, however, and indeed had more of those gray Digimon trickling out.

"Then that's where we end it," Saito said grimly. "Haru, call Piddomon back. We're going to storm the spire and see if we can't get some answers to what's going on around here. Greymon, help the Toy Agumon and hold this position. You four stay here," he said, turning to Jun, Chizuru, Bukamon and Koromon. The girls looked like they wanted to protest, but they looked too scared to argue. They instead nodded and held their partner Digimon close.

Saito nodded before he, Haru and Piddomon made their way over to the destroyed control spire. The angel Digimon blasted his way through the gray Digimon and stormed his way in. Saito and Haru were quick to follow, squinting through disintegrating data as they followed Piddomon down into a spiraling staircase.

"I sure hope the others are alright," Haru huffed.

Saito nodded grimly, a small trickle of fear and worry shivered down his spine. He sent up a silent prayer that his wife, friends, and the teens would be alright.

  

**Adventure Digital World: Location: Mountain Control Spire **

Montarou yelled out in alarm, ducking behind a tree just as one of those stupid rubber gasmasked goons took a shot at him.

"Montarou!" Chichimon squawked. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," the teen grunted, flinching as a tree a few feet away got blasted, sending splinters all over the place. "I'm getting really sick of these guys."

"We should find Mrs. Yoshimura and Biyomon," Chichimon said.

"She and the Gekomon and Otamamon are a little busy at the moment," Montarou snapped, before racing for another tree, just in time too. The tree they'd been standing behind burst into flames. "Shit!"

"So what do we do?"

"We run like hell!"

Montarou tucked his new partner under his arm like a football, despite his protests, and after taking a fortifying breath, made a break for it. He was a lot faster than those gray Digimon, but their machine guns came close to hitting him a good too many times for his liking. He raced down the incline of the mountain, darting from tree to tree for cover as much as he could and ran until it was a good five minutes since he'd last heard the attacking Digimon's gunfire. He slowed to a stop behind a large boulder and let Chichimon go.

The little yellow bird Digimon fluffed out his feathers clucking in irritation. Montarou winced. He'd worked up quite a sweat racing through the mountain woods in the still air… that now had a breeze to it.

"Hey, Chichimon."

"What?"

"There's a breeze… We must have run so far that we're out of the Control Spire's strange barrier."

"So?" the little bird asked, but just at that moment Montarou heard a branch snap behind them and dived for the ground, snatching Chichimon out of the air again.

It was a good instinctive reaction too as bullets flew over head. Montarou scrambled into a crouch and ran as fast as he could, but in his hurry he slipped on some loose gravel and went sliding down the mountain's slope for a bit and ended up sprawled at it's base. Chichimon fell out of his arms somewhere in that chaotic descent. When he looked up he saw three of those gray goons pointing their guns right at him.

"Montarou!" Chichimon screeched, flying towards him before being engulfed in a bright light. "CHICHIMON DIGIVOLVE TOOO…. PENGUINMON!"

Montarou stared. In the place where his tiny yellow partner had hovered was now a purple bird with a round belly. It looked like some kind of mutant penguin.

"ICE PRISM!" the penguin Digimon squawked before shards of ice exploded out of it's mouth in a bright beam of light, freezing the entire cliffside, including their gray garbed pursuers. They broke through the ice easy, however, and began to make their way down the cliff.

"Montarou, take cover!" Penguinmon said. "Don't worry, I got this!"

Then faster than Mantarou thought possible for the slightly tubby bird, Penguinmon zipped across the ice, launching himself from rock to rock back up the cliffside to intercept their attackers. Before one of those things could even bring up it's gun, Penguinmon streaked past it.

"Slide Attack!" Penguinmon shouted as he clipped the two gray Digimon on his way by.

The attack sent the two enemies reeling and they began to slip down the icy cliffside. Somehow Penguinmon managed to slide past them again until he ended up in front of them and met their uncontrolled descent with another Ice Prism attack at point blank range, freezing them and then shattering them with a Super Slap attack, hitting them until they were frozen chips of data.

With a happy little twitter, the not-so-little anymore purple bird slid the rest of the way down the cliff and stopped beside a stunned Montarou.

"Dude… that was  _awesome!_ " Mantarou cried.

"Aww, it was nothing," Penguinmon giggled before his eyes narrowed and looked back up the mountain side. "But we should head back and help Biyomon and Mrs. Yoshimura."

"Right," Montarou sighed, looking up at the profile of the Control Spire just in time to see it explode.

  

**Adventure Digital World: Location: Plains West of Primary Village **

"What the hell are these things?" Jim cried.

"No idea, just stay down!" Mr. Ishida shouted at the young man from where he was crouched behind a small boulder that barely shielded him.

The damn things had appeared to have come from nowhere and had chased them into a nearby ravine, but now that they'd been forced to back off Jim could see that the gray Digimon were coming out from the base of the tower.

"Sir, we need to retreat!" Jim cried. They'd already lost one of their two Palmon guides, and Gabumon, Bukamon, and the remaining Palmon weren't going to last much longer from where they'd taken shelter.

"Damn," he heard the man growl before raising his voice. "Gabumon, we need to get out of here! Try to cause a rockslide."

Gabumon and Bukamon suddenly shifted their fire to the wall of the ravine and caused the narrow passage they'd managed to bottleneck earlier to temporarily be cut off.

"That won't work for long," Palmon warned as she darted over to the humans.

"I know," Mr. Ishida sighed. "So let's go while we have the chance."

Jim grit his teeth as he picked up his tired partner and followed Mr. Ishida, Gabumon and Palmon back to Primary Village. Gabumon was too tired to Digivolve from the fight, so they had to travel there by foot.

When they arrived, it was around sundown and Ninjamon was nursing his own injuries from a similar confrontation. Piximon, Elecmon and Unimon looked a little worse for wear, but apparently they had no trouble taking out their assigned towers and had gone to aid Ninjamon with his since his tower had been a lot closer to the Village than the one the DigiDestined had gone to. Ninjamon for once wasn't very boastful about his successful fight with the strange gray Digimon that had flooded out of his tower too. That was probably because it had been Unimon and Piximon that had destroyed the Control Spire.

"So that only leaves one," Unimon mused.

"Perhaps," Piximon said. "We can't count on the fact that they might build another Control Spire over night. We didn't get rid of them all, and those we fought at Ninjamon's spire in the South don't sound as numerous as those that Jim and Hiroaki faced."

"What do you think it means, Piximon?" Elecmon asked.

"I think that the one that the DigiDestined went to was their main base in this area," said Piximon, "It was more guarded. You did say that the western spire had been the first to appear in the area, correct?"

"It was," Elecmon mused.

"So tomorrow morning, we should focus our efforts on destroying that Control Spire," Unimon said.

"No," Piximon said, surprisingly. "We can't give them time to regroup. We should attack them tonight. Yup yup! They'll expect us to try again tomorrow, so we should try to catch them as off guard as possible. And I don't think we should destroy the spire right away. No, if it is their main base as we suspect, then we could gain some valuable information."

"So we disable it," Hiroaki said. "Jim and I won't be much help if our Digimon can't digivolve."

"Then we should split up into two groups," Elecmon said. "One larger group should focus on the attack and damage the spire enough to allow digivolving, and another smaller group should infiltrate their base and learn what we can before we destroy the tower."

"I'll lead the infiltrators," Ninjamon growled.

"Excellent," Piximon cried. "And Jim, Bukamon, and a couple of Palmon should come with you."

"Wait, why me?" Jim asked. "Mr. Ishida is much better at computers. I won't know what I'm looking for!"

"But you're smaller, younger, and easier to conceal," Ninjamon pointed out.

"Not that much smaller," Jim protested. "I'm fairly tall."

"Bah!" Piximon huffed. "So is your brother, Joe. You remind me of him quite a bit, actually. He was afraid to take responsibility too when he was younger. But from what I hear, these days there is no one more reliable than Joe Kido. He's come a long way from the frightened kid he was back then. He's braver and more capable than he looks, and I bet you're the same."

Jim hummed noncommittally, looking up at the sky, wondering how his younger brother was fairing. Joe wasn't a kid anymore. He was 18 now and was supposed to be starting his freshman year at college in a few weeks. He wasn't that nervous little boy he used to be growing up. Becoming a DigiDestined had changed him. Joe was more sure of himself. Of course, after facing down so many monsters in the Digital World, going to college and med school was probably a piece of cake.

And if his little brother could do it, so could Jim. He couldn't wimp out now that things were starting to get tough; now that things were just starting to get scary. What he was facing now was nowhere near as dangerous as what Joe and the others were facing right now in that other Digital World.

"Alright. I'll do it," Jim said, staring determinedly at them all.

~*~*~*~*~*~

What's up with all of the gray gas-masked Digimon attacking the Adventure DigiDestined? Will everyone be alright? What about Yutaka? Will he survive his fight with the strange metal dragon Digimon? Find out next time on Digimon: Digital Monsters!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys, no Savers. I decided to cut down on this chapter a bit because I originally only had the Adventure world parts when I started writing this back in March and April. Then I got caught up in work and moving, so when I finally returned to this chapter a week ago, I took off the last Adventure part and wrote Tamers, Frontier and even a Savers part, but the Savers bit didn't fit with what I had for the first half of this so it got moved to what I'll post in the next chapter. :P
> 
> I hope to update this again soon. I'll try to return to a monthly update like I had going at the beginning of the year, now that things have settled down a bit. Look forward to it! :)


	24. Chapter 23: The DigiDestined Strike Back!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last time on Digimon: Digital Monsters...
> 
> Frontier Digital World - Yutaka and the others spent a night at the Candlemon Village and investigated a disturbance in a cave. They were attacked by a metal dragon and while defending the other’s escape, Tetsukomon became trapped within the cave with the creature.
> 
> Adventure World - The group split up into pairs, one adult and one teen per pair, to investigate Control Spires but were attacked by an army of rubber suited Digimon. Montarou got separated from Yumi and was attacked. Chichimon to digivolved into Penguinmon to save them. Jun and Chizuru were separated from Saito and Haru, who went inside their Control Spire to investigate. Jim and Hiroaki failed to destroy theirs but plan to return in the night with back up.
> 
> Tamers Digital World - The group traveled through a never ending grassland devoid of other life. They found a spiral staircase that takes them up to the clouds where there was a locked door to the next level. They searched for the key on the ground, but had to abandon their efforts when it started to rain and resulted in a flash flood. Minami found the key in the clouds around the door and they moved on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, and I thought the last chapter ran long. This ended up being 21 pages long! I wanted to post this last month, but I started a new job and this kept getting longer. But now the wait is over!
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy!
> 
> I DO NOT OWN DIGIMON ADVENTURE, 02, TAMERS, FRONTIER, OR SAVERS!

**** **Adventure Digital World: Location: The Forest North of Toy Town**

Jun and Chizuru screamed, ducking behind trees again as they avoided another volley of ammunition from the strange gray digimon. The sun had just set and all they could see of the fight were the flashes of gunfire from the gray masked Digimon and the fireballs shot from the ToyAgumon and Greymon X, who was doing his best to shield the girls from the worst of the fight.

Mr. Yoshimura and Mr. Yoshi had been gone for a few hours and they were starting to worry now that more of those grey Digimon were starting to come out of the spire again.

“Do you think they’ve been captured?” Chizuru asked.

“I don't know,” Jun said. “But something is wrong. They should have come back by now. We’d better go investigate for ourselves.”

“But they told us to stay out here,” Chizuru protested.

“Maybe, but that was hours ago. They could be in trouble and we’ll never know by just staying here.”

“I’m with you, Jun!” Bukamon cried, hovering by her partner’s shoulder.

“And we are too, aren’t we, Chizuru?” Koromon asked.

Chizuru bit her lip before nodding firmly. “I suppose you’re right. We’re DigiDestined too, and we won’t always be able to rely on Mr. Yoshi and Mr. Yoshimura to always be there to help us. So what’s the gameplan, Jun?”

“Ah…” Jun faltered a moment. What would Davis do? Probably something stupid like charge the tower and bust his way inside. But they really couldn’t do that while there were still enemy Digimon pouring out. But how else were they supposed to get into the spire? Neither of their Digimon were strong enough for such an assault. Mr. Yoshi’s partner had digivolved to Piddomon to clear the way, and Piddomon was a Champion level Digimon. Bukamon and Koromon were only at the InTraining Level.

“There has to be another way inside,” Jun growled in frustration, eyeing the entrance to the Control Spire. “Maybe if we stick to the shadows we’ll be able to find another entrance.

“In the dark?” Chizuru said skeptically.

“Do you have a better idea?” Jun snapped.

“Well, no,” her friend muttered.

“Then let’s go.”

The two girls and their partners crouched low and snuck away from their spot while Greymon X let loose another scorching volley of Nova Blasts that incinerated a whole flank of enemy Digimon. In the brief flare of fire light, the girls saw that Monzaemon and Pandamon had joined the battle with more Toy Agumon at some point. But even so, more of those Digimon continued to pour out of the tower and reform the incinerated ranks.

“This is hopeless,” Chizuru whispered. “There are too many of them. How are we ever going to get inside?”

“I could help,” a new voice said.

Jun had to choke off a scream as she stared down at a softly glowing white Digimon that looked a lot like the Lopmon that Willace and Suzie had.

“This way,” the glowing Lopmon said, floating ahead of them in the woods towards the spire.

Jun narrowed her eyes as the Lopmon’s image started to fizzle in and out, like static.

“Hurry! I can’t be here long. Your older companions only managed to open the way for a short time,” the Lopmon said.

Jun wasn’t sure what to make of that, but it gave her hope that Mr. Yoshimura and Mr. Yoshi had managed to do something inside the tower.

“Here!” the Lopmon said, pointing to a blank stretch of wall just out of sight of the battle and emerging enemy Digimon. “You have to… the door. Leads to… where your adult com… are. Be careful… Destroy… contact you again.”

“Wait, what?” Chizuru said, both girls watching in panicked confusion as the Lopmon suddenly disappeared in a staticy haze.

“It was saying that a door of some kind is here,” Jun muttered, running her hand along the wall. “Help me find it, Chi.”

It took a few unnerving moments but they finally did find the seam of a door.

“Now how do we open it?” Chizuru asked.

They tried to pry it open, but they just couldn’t wedge their fingers in enough to pop it open.

“We need a crowbar or something,” Jun huffed.

“Great, I’ll just go look for one in the woods,” Chizuru growled.

“Will this do?” Koromon asked.

The girls looked down and saw that Bukamon and Koromon were holding up one of the enemy Digimon’s rifles, which happened to have a long metal blade along the barrel, like the old fashioned muskets that you see in some American Revolutionary War films.

“Doesn’t hurt to try,” Jun muttered, picking up the heavy weapon and jamming the blade into the seam. “Chi, help me.”

Together, Jun and Chizuru managed to pry the door open, nearly falling over when the slab of wall popped open on silent hinges and swung out.

“We did it!” the girl’s cried, only to cover each other’s mouths when they realized how loud they’d been.

Thankfully, the battle continued on and none of the emerging enemy Digimon appeared to have heard them. The girls and their partner Digimon hurried inside, shutting the wall/door behind them. The space was dimly lit, but they appeared to be inside a server room of some sort. Tall banks of servers provided the light as they flashed. Most had red lights, but there were a few towers with green lights on them as well.

“What do you suppose these are for?” Jun asked, watching as one of the green towers suddenly flashed yellow before fading to a steady red like many of the other towers.

“Desert Spire,” Bukamon said, pointing to a label on the tower’s side.

“Ah! I think these servers are for Control Spires!” Chizuru exclaimed, pointing to a tower of red lit servers a little ways from where Jun was. “This one is Vending Valley Spire. Mr. Yoshimura and I took that one out this afternoon!”

“And that one is labeled Eastern Toy Town Spire,” Koromon spoke up, pointing to the server tower next to it.

“Then that must mean this one is…,” Jun said, jogging over to the server by Chizuru. It had green lights on it, but half of the server had yellow too. “Yup. Northern Toy Town Forest Spire. The rest of these are red, meaning that Monzaemon and Pandamon must have destroyed the other Towers before coming here.”

“I wonder what the other lit ones are?” Chizuru asked, moving over to another aisle of server towers and stopped before another green lit one. “This one is Western Primary Village Spire. Weren’t Mr. Ishida and Jim supposed to be taking care of the control spires around Primary Village?”

“I think so,” Jun mused as she approached a whole aisle of green server towers. “None of these have gone red yet. … Ocean Spire? Lake Spire? Frigi Village Spire?”

“Must be a sector that no one’s managed to get to yet,” Chizuru said.

“And they’ll have to wait for now,” Jun said, returning to the server tower for the Control Spire they were currently in. “How do we disable this?”

“Like this. Bubble Blast!” Bukamon cried, spitting out a stream of pink bubbles at the server tower.

The tower sparked and smoked, but ultimately continued blinking green and yellow.

“Maybe it needs a stronger blast?” Koromon suggested.

“Let’s hold off on that for now,” Jun said quickly, covering her partner’s mouth, while Chizuru did the same with Koromon.

“They’re computer servers for goodness sake,” Chizuru muttered. “Let’s just unplug them all.”

“Right,” Jun sighed, taking one end of the server, while Chizuru took the other.

The girls and Digimon began yanking wires out, causing many lights on the tower to turn yellow and red, but had only been doing it for a few minutes before they heard a door open with a loud CLANG! and a light stretched down the main aisle of the server room.

“Hide!” Jun hissed, grabbing Bukamon before ducking down another aisle of server towers.

She waited with baited breath for footsteps, but didn’t hear any. She did hear a strange whirr of gears, however. Jun dared to take a peek around the tower she was hiding behind and saw a strange hovering Digmon that appeared to be made out of gears and cogs.

“What a mess!” the machine Digimon creaked. “It’s no wonder our connections are going down! This’ll take hours to fix.”

The Digimon began muttering to himself as he tried to sort out the tangles of wires that littered the ground.

“What do we do?” Bukamon asked.

“We need to get out of here,” Jun said softly, backing away from where the machine Digimon was. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she bumped into something, but was relieved that it turned out to be only Chizuru and Koromon.

“Can we please get out of here, Junnie?” Chizuru whimpered, clearly reaching high panic levels.

Jun only nodded, grabbing hold of her friend’s hand to not only comfort Chizuru, but ground herself as well. Granted, the machine Digimon wasn’t very scary or as dangerous looking as the grey suited Digimon fighting outside, but almost being caught had definitely been unnerving.

The four of them ducked past the aisles of computer server towers towards the door that the machine Digimon had come from and once they were sure that it was completely focused on the mess of wires, they peeked outside the door and were relieved to find no other Digimon in the vicinity. They hurried into the hall and then decided to just pick a random direction to head in. Once they were a good distance away from the server room they began to relax a bit.

“Where do we go now?” Chizuru asked.

“We have to find Mr. Yoshi and Mr. Yoshimura,” Jun said.

“And how do we do that?”

“Still working on it,” Jun admitted.

“We could go to the main control room,” Bukamon suggested.

“What?” both girls asked, then stared at the floor plan map that Bukamon was hovering next to on the wall. It even had a very helpful YOU ARE HERE dot.

“That’ll work,” Chizuru said, examining the map.

Jun grinned. “I think I have a plan now, guys.”

 

 

**Frontier Digital World: Location: Collapsed Cave**

Tetsukomon slowly got to his feet as quietly as he could even though he couldn’t see a thing. It was pitch black now that the cave entrance had been collapsed. But he could hear the metal dragon growl and wheeze and his mechanisms hissed and whirred. Being as large as it was, Tetsukomon hoped that it had taken some damage during the cave in and that it’s movements were limited now.

Taking a few measured breaths, Tetsukomon did his best to calm his mind. It wasn’t easy. Inside the Warrior form, Yutaka was terrified to face this thing on his own. He could only hope that the others had managed to get out of the cave unharmed before the entrance had closed and were now making efforts to get him out.

The beast suddenly let out a loud roar and a blinding bright light from an energy attack lit up the cave. The attack missed him completely and collapsed another section of the cave. Now Tetsukomon knew where the metal dragon was. He was quick to move away from his current position though because if he’d seen the dragon there was every chance that the dragon had seen him too and that the attack was just a ploy to reveal his location.

He circled around to where he knew the beast was. He believed he’d gotten lucky and managed to find a blind spot the next time it launched another attack. It hit where he had been standing during the last attack. This time he was slightly behind the dragon. While Tetsukomon readied himself to make an attack of his own, he felt an instinctive urge to duck. Following his intuition, he did just before something swiped at where his head had been. He could feel the displaced air whoosh over him. His instincts flared up again and he dove left.

This continued on for a few more minutes before Tetsukomon realized that he was detecting the metal dragon’s attacks. He could sense the metal that the beast was armored in. And, more importantly, where it was _not_.

After he let the dragon dictate the pace of the fight for a few moments more, Tetsukomon was finally presented with the opportunity he was waiting for and lunged with his sword extended and stabbed at the empty space he couldn’t detect chrome digizoid, thrusting his blade in up to the hilt.

The dragon let out a wailing roar and hissed and clanked as it writhed. Tetsukomon jumped back, getting clear as the beast roared and thrashed about. It was in his good fortune that the dragon broke through the collapsed entrance and tumbled out of the cave and into the river below. Tetsukomon hurried to the newly reopened entrance and stared at the now still metal dragon lying in the river. Off to his right along the bank, he spotted Shinya, Rikuto and Umi standing with Bokomon, Neemon, and what appeared to be the entire Candlemon village.

Before anyone could say anything, the metal beast below them suddenly exploded into a mess of fractal code. Yutaka reverted from his Warrior form and pulled out his D-Tector, doing what Sorcermon had told him to do when a Digimon was defeated and presented its fractal code for purification.

“Fractal Code Digitize!” he said, swiping his digivice out in front of him towards the data.

The fractal code flew into his D-Tector and Yutaka was surprised to see an idol of some sort attached to the end of it. The shape of the dragon down in the river had shrank and revealed itself to be another Candlemon.

When Yutaka looked down at his D-Tector, his Warrior symbol for Steel was glowing brightly and the visage of the dragon was staring back at him.

“Is this… my Beast Spirit?” he asked.

“Yutaka!”

Yutaka looked up just in time to get knocked over by Shinya as the smaller boy ran up and tackle-hugged him.

“Are you alright?” Umi asked as she and her brother arrived.

“A bit bruised,” Yutaka grunted, patting Shinya on the back, “but I’ll live.”

“What was that thing?” Rikuto asked.

“I think… it was my Beast Spirit,” Yutaka told them. He then began to explain to them about how the fight went after he got trapped inside the cave with it and what happened when he scanned its fractal code.

“I believe you’re right, my boy,” Bokomon said after he saw Yutaka’s D-Tector. “Candlemon don’t normally Digivolve into that sort of thing. It actually reminds me of the time BurningGreymon possessed a Shamanmon before Takuya found and claimed the Beast Spirit of Fire. You too should try transforming into the Beast Spirit, Yutaka. Then, perchance, we’ll know its name.”

“You want him to turn _into_ that thing?” Rikuto asked, massaging the shoulder the metal dragon had hit early in the fight.

“Why, yes,” Bokomon said, looking surprised. “He’ll need to if he’s going to be able to fight in that form.”

Yutaka looked at his D-Tector and then back at the cave that was pretty wrecked from the fight he’d just had against the Beast Spirit.

“Maybe later,” he said, thinking back on what he’d heard about some of his brother’s friends’ experiences when they’d transformed into their Beast Spirit forms for the first time. If he was recalling some of Bokomon and Neemon’s stories correctly, Takuya hadn’t had any control over BurningGreymon when they’d first met. With that in mind… “I think the Candlemon have had enough destruction happening near their village and that we’ve all had enough excitement for one day.”

“Good idea,” Shinya said. “Besides, you’ve gotta be tired. You practically fought that thing all by yourself! You were amazing today Yutaka.”

“Thanks, Shinya,” Yutaka said, smiling wearily at the boy.

“Yeah, let’s let him rest and get Riku patched up before we go anywhere,” Umi chimed in.

The four new Warrior DigiDestined returned to the Candlemon Village and remained there for the rest of the morning.

 

 

**Adventure Digital World: Location: Desert Spire**

Momoe stared in amazement as the spire came toppling down. It had taken _ages_ for them to destroy that thing. It had been a stroke of luck when the control spire took enough damage from Centarumon’s surprise attack. The centaur Digimon had come out of nowhere to aid them. The damage he’d caused to the spire, however, had been enough to allow Mr. Hiroko’s Tentomon to digivolve into Kuwagamon and destroy the tower. However, their work wasn’t done yet. The area was still swarming with those strange grey suited Digimon.

“Momoe look out!” Minomon cried, jumping out of her arms and began to glow yellow. “MINOMON! DIGIVOLVE TOOO… WORMMON!”

Momoe dove to the side to avoid the gunshots aimed her way and quickly scrambled to her feet to see where her partner had ended up. Instead of the small larva digimon she’d had seconds ago, a caterpillar digimon now scurried in her place, spitting strings of some kind at the grey gun-toting Digimon that’d been shooting at Momoe. She looked a lot like Ken Ichijoji’s partner, although her markings were more pink than purple.

“Momoe, we need to run!” Wormmon cried, moving surprisingly fast for a caterpillar.

Momoe didn’t hesitate as she picked up her partner and raced towards where she’d last seen Mr. Hiroko. She spotted the tall lanky man a few minutes later and raced toward him, but before she could get within shouting distance, they were cut off by a fresh wave of the grey suited Digimon.

“I’m getting really sick of these guys,” she cried, eyes tearing up as a line of guns were leveled at her. She heard the clicks of their barrels as they took aim and clenched her eyes shut. This was it.

“ICE PRISM!”

Or not.

Momoe opened her eyes in time to see the frozen forms of her would-be shooters before a blur of purple took them out and a large red bird flew overhead, raining down orange sparks onto the grey digimon still swarming out of the remains of the control spire.

“MOMOE!”

Momoe found herself suddenly engulfed in a hug from her older brother.

“Are you alright?!” Montarou demanded, stepping back and holding her at arm's length so that he could get a good look at her.

“Fine,” Momoe stammered, readjusting her glasses. “Thanks for the save.”

“Yes, thank you,” Wormmon piped up.

Montarou startled, staring at her partner for a moment before shrugging. “Uh, no problem.”

“Glad you’re safe,” a voice said in a very chipper tone.

Momoe looked over towards the voice and saw a purple penguin, which had to have been the Digimon that had taken out those enemy Digimon.

“Thanks… err…”

“His name is Penguinmon,” Montarou said. “He digivolved from Chichimon.”

“Oh! Cool. Thanks, Penguinmon,” Momoe said, bowing towards the tubby bird.

“Aww, it was nothing!” the penguin said, rubbing the back of his head with a flipper in an embarrassed fashion.

“Are you kids alright?”

Momoe and Montarou looked up and saw Mr. Hiroko and Mrs. Yoshimura coming their way with Centarumon. Mrs. Yoshimura’s partner and Kuwagamon were still fighting with the remains of the grey suited Digimon army.

“A bit shaken, but we’re fine,” Momoe said with a small smile. “Thanks to you and Mantarou getting here in the nick of time anyway, Mrs. Yoshimura.”

“You can call me Yumi, dear,” the woman said, smiling with relief. “You and Keisuke had a lot more of those things attacking you than we did. Thankfully these things don’t appear to be too bright. I managed to trick them into blowing up our control spire. Unfortunately that didn’t leave much for us to investigate, so we just had Hirotorimon burn out the rest of it like a bad ant hill.”

“Let’s see if we have any luck with this one,” Mr. Hiroko said, turning to the remains of their Control Spire.

With that said, the four of them and their Digimon partners made their way over to where the base of the tower had been. It took Kuwagamon and Hirotorimon moving some of the debris, but they eventually found a set of spiraling stairs that led down. Kuwagamon and Hirotorimon were too big to travel down in their Champion levels, so they de-digivolved into Biyomon and Tentomon again.

Momoe stuck close to Montarou and Penguinmon, holding Wormmon tightly as they descended, but her partner didn’t complain. There wasn’t any light as they descended, so Tentomon took the lead and formed sparks between his wings to create illumination. When they made it to the bottom, Yumi picked up a piece of wood that had been dislodged in the crumbling structure and had Biyomon light it. They did this a few times until all the humans had a burning stick to hold.

They passed through several winding passages until they came to what Mr. Hiroko believed to be the main control room, which was in shambles. A large wall of monitors full of mostly cracked and some shattered screens lined one wall and there were a couple of metal gear Digimon lying about in a daze.

“Hagurumon,” Keisuke said, frowning as he approached one. “Hey, gearhead. You’ve got some explaining to do.”

The machine Digimon clanked in startled movement, creaking worriedly.

“E-e-explaining?! We’ve done nothing wrong!” it cried.

“You don’t think running a control spire and unleashing armies of those grey monsters is wrong?” Mr. Hiroko snapped. Tentomon sparked angrily next to him, making the Hagurumon creak and wheeze nervously.

“I’m just doing as my master commanded,” it cried. “He said that no one should interfere! The Troopmon were only defending the spire.”

“Is that what those monsters are called? Troopmon?” Yumi asked. “And who is this master you serve?”

“Mustn’t say! Mustn’t say!” the Hagurumon wailed, it’s companion wailing the same thing.

“The Master will be angry!” the second one cried. “All his plans… All his lovely Control Spires… gone!”

“All but a few if this is any indication,” Montarou said.

Momoe jumped, having not realized that her brother had moved away and taken up a position besides one of the few intact monitors. She joined him, looking over his shoulder curiously. It showed a map of File Island. There were many red dots where she assumed control spires once stood, because she recognized some of the locations she knew that the others had gone to investigate. Only one in the forest she knew Chizuru and Jun were investigating was still green, but it flashed yellow on occasion. Then there were three other green dots along a section of coast on the island that no one was investigating yet.

“The master will be angry! The master will be angry!” wailed the Hagurumon. “His plan has failed. His plan has failed!”

“Who is your master?” Mr. Hiroko demanded.

“Mustn’t say!”

“I don’t think we’re going to get much out of them, Keisuke,” Yumi said softly. “Not in this state.”

“You’re probably right. We should bring them to Gennai,” Mr. Hiroko sighed. “He’ll have an idea what to do.”

It was a bit of a struggle, but they managed to drag the Hagurumon out of the Control Spire. Momoe was surprised to see Gennai’s base already waiting for them.

“Centarumon alerted me to the news,” the digital man explained as several of his look-alikes headed down into the Control Spire’s remains.

“Your timing couldn’t be anymore perfect,” Mr. Hiroko said before launching into his explanation for what they found and about the Hagurumon, who were whisked away into the base by more of Gennai’s kind.

“A master, you say?” Gennai said, looking troubled. “And you say they called these Digimon Troopmon? I can honestly say that I’ve never heard of them.”

“What does that mean?” Momoe asked, hugging Wormmon to her.

“It means,” Gennai said grimly, “that forces outside of our world are working to seal us off from the other worlds and prevent us from getting help to your sister and her friends.”

Momoe shared a concerned look with her brother. “Yolei…”

“We’ll get there,” Montarou said with sudden certainty, pulling her into a hug. “We’re getting our baby sister back, Mo, no matter what it takes.”

 

 

**Tamers Digital World: Location: Level 5 - Forest Level**

Alice looked around at the stretch of forest ahead of them. The door separating level 4 and 5 opened up in the middle of a meadow on the edge of a forest. She could see flocks of bird Digimon flying over the treetops and several different kinds of Digimon she didn’t know the names of running around between the trunks. Level 3 had been a very lively community, but all the Digimon here felt wild.

In the distance, Kai was pointing out a group of tall long necked dinosaurs that Grapleomon called Brachiomon. There were a lot of other assorted dinosaur looking Digimon roaming the more open spaces of the level as well, while the forest seemed to shelter the smaller mammal-based looking Digimon.

“This is probably where those DarkTyrannomon came from,” Alice mused as she spotted a pack of both the normal red Tyrannomon and the black DarkTyrannomon.

Minami shuddered beside her. “The ones here seem so peaceful, though.”

“Yeah, well, how would you feel if you’d been stuck in that elevator lift thing for days on end?” Kai asked. “The lockdown’s been in effect for a little over a week now. If those DarkTyrannomon were stuck in there that whole time… What?”

Alice and Minami stared at Kai.

“That was surprisingly insightful,” Alice said, smiling. “Very good deductive reasoning, Kai.”

Kai blushed, scratching the back of his head. “Yeah, well… it’s been known to happen.”

The girls giggled, moving on with the rest of their large group as they entered the forest.

It was hard to find a Digimon that was willing to stop and converse with them. Like Alice had thought, most of the Digimon on this level were wild and very few actually spoke any discernable language that wasn’t grunts, roars, or wails. They eventually came across an Apemon, who seemed to be the leader of a small group of some civilized Digimon. If you could call a clan of Shamanmon and Goblimon civil, that is. From what Alice could tell, the Shamanmon and Goblimon idolized Apemon for his shiny golden red streaked fur, and the power he demonstrated with the use of his bone stick. For such a brightly colored Digimon, Apemon was stealthy. They hadn’t seen him until he was already in their midst with his clan of goblin monsters.

“What you want?” Apemon asked, brandishing his bone club at them. “Why you here?”

It was Jijimon and Babamon who came forward to explain to the clan their purpose. Alice, Kai and Minami got a lot of oohs and aahs from the Goblimon, and a lot of the Shamanmon were saying that their predictions had been right. Apemon himself had been silent throughout the entire explanation, his intelligent eyes flickering from the humans to the large group of Digimon accompanying them.

When asked about a possible location for where the lock to their level was located, Apemon merely grunted, “This way,” and took off into the trees, his clan scrambling to follow him, as well as everybody else.

“Nice guy,” Kai commented sarcastically as they raced after the streak of yellow that glinted occasionally in the treetops.

“He doesn’t seem to be a mon of many words,” Minami mused.

“With only Shamanmon and Goblimon for company to converse with, is it any wonder?” Alice asked softly so that only her friends could hear, though if Monochromon’s snicker and some chuffing laughter from some Dobermon were any indication, a few of the Digimon around her had heard.

Apemon led them back out of the forest to a large stretch of grassland, not unlike the level below. However, this grassland was pitted with stretches of pixelated water and mud.

“Beware spots,” Apemon said, pointing to the strange ditches of water and mud. “Will catch you and suck you under to lower level.”

“Must be how those DarkTyrannomon got down there and into the elevator to level 3,” Alice mused. “The elevator was their only way to avoid getting swept away from the flash floods. Then the lockdown happened and they were stuck.”

“How awful,” Minami whispered.

“Now I feel pretty bad about destroying those guys,” Monochromon grunted.

“What’s done is done,” Grapleomon said. “All we can do is move forward.”

The humans nodded and followed Apemon across the plains. It took a few hours, but finally, on the horizon they could see a formation of rocks in the distance, though it was too far away to make out any particular shape they may have formed. Apemon insisted that they rest in a large swath of grassland next to the only pool of water that hadn’t looked pixelated. It was the only good water for kilometers apparently, and safe for everyone drink.

While everyone settled down to camp for a short while, Alice noticed that the Shamanmon were building a fire. Where they’d gotten the materials, she had no idea, but once they got the fire started, they began to dance. Their Goblimon clansmen clapping and chanting with them. Then, to everyone’s amazement, images began to appear in the fire’s flames. It showed the DigiDestined in the other Digital World.

Images of Tai hurt and getting attended to by his medic friend - Joe? Jay? - while his sister and others hovered worriedly flashed in the flames. That Koji guy was seated, rubbing at a bruise on his shoulder while his larger friend in the blue jumpsuit inspected another spot with a strange crystal in hand, but his twin, Koichi, was nowhere in sight. The older blond from Tai’s world also seemed to be missing his younger brother. Takato and Henry were looking worried as well as they talked with Rika, Ryo and a boy that looked a lot like Koji and Koichi, but was from Tai’s world. Alice wanted to laugh though when she saw Kazu and Kenta playing cards on the ground with their Digimon, trying to teach Jeri, Suzie, Ai and Mako. Everyone had looked so serious and grim and were clearly missing two more members of their group, so the slightly cheerful scene of Kazu and Kenta clearly helping Jeri babysit the younger kids was amusing.

“I wonder where the other twin and that TK guy are?” Kai mused. “And what happened to Tai?”

“Captured,” Apemon grunted, startling them. They hadn’t even heard him approach. “Two moon shifts ago, Tai, TK and Kouichi were attacked by enemy. Zaigou knock out Koichi and TK. Tai try to protect. Tai get stabbed and left behind. Enemy leave with other two.”

Alice, Kai and Minami shared startled looks.

“Are they dead?” Kai asked.

“According to Shamanmon, no,” Apemon huffed. “Held captive. Know no more.”

The three humans looked back at the Shamanmon’s fire and watched more images of Takato and the others travel through underground tunnels.

 

 

**Adventure World: Location: Plains West of Primary Village**

“ _What the hell am I doing_?” Jim thought to himself as he and Bukamon followed Ninjamon through the underground network of passageways under the Control Spire.

A little over two hours ago, Piximon, Elecmon, and Unimon had attacked the Control Spire, disabling it enough for Mr. Ishida’s partner to digivolve into Houkomon. While the fight above ground was raging, Ninjamon had helped Jim, Bukamon, and a pair of Palmon sneak in down the stairs. They’d had to stop frequently to dart into the shadows to avoid being seen by more of those grey suited gasmask Digimon as they raced up to join the battle above.

Now they were in the main corridors of the base. Ninjamon had found a very helpful map of the entire compound. It even had a nice little YOU ARE HERE dot on it. They were currently making their way to the control center, but had on occasion snuck into side rooms to avoid machine Digimon the Palmon told him were called Hagurumon. Jim couldn’t tell if there were many of them, or if it was just the same one patrolling the halls.

“Quick, in here,” Ninjamon hissed, darting into another room along the hall. Jim did as he was told, darting inside. A minute later he could hear the creak and clank of the Hagurumon’s gears as it floated by.

“Holy cow! What is this place?” Bukamon asked.

Jim shushed him, but looked behind him and realized that the room was full of mostly red computer server towers.

“Looks like something important,” Ninjamon sneered, loosening his katana from its scabbard on his back. “Let’s mess this up.”

Jim watched as the short onion-shaped Digimon started slashing cables and cords to bits with a manically gleeful delight. While he was doing that, the Palmon were pulling cords out of the server towers, while Jim looked at the labels. He wasn’t good with computers or electronics by any means, but it didn’t take a computer wiz like that Izzi kid to realize that each server tower represented a Control Spire. When he pointed this out to the others, Ninjamon took great pleasure in cutting clean through the actual hardware to the control spire they were currently in, destroying it beyond repair.

That was when the alarms began to sound.

“So much for stealth,” Jim sighed.

“Nah, this is just a distraction,” Ninjamon said as if everything were going according to plan rather than improvisation. “With any luck everyone will be here and vacate the control room.”

“We need to get out and away from here unseen first,” Jim pointed out, following Ninjamon out of the server room and down the hallway again before ducking into another room at the sound of marching footsteps and whirring gears echoed down the hall. “And now we’re trapped.”

“Yee of little faith,” Ninjamon tisked. “We’ll be using the vents for a bit. Hope you’re not claustrophobic, kid.”

Jim grimaced. He wouldn’t say he was claustrophobic, but he didn’t like being enclosed in narrow spaces all the same. Regardless, he bit the proverbial bullet and followed Ninjamon, Bukamon and a Palmon through the vents with the second Palmon bringing up the rear. Jim was rather tall and had to crawl through on his belly, slowly so as not to make noise. He felt like he was a burden to the group in there. Ninjamon’s compact frame slipped through the vents easily. Bukamon had no problem either, being the smallest in the party. The Palmon were rather flexible and moved rather easily too. Ninjamon and Bukamon would often traverse ahead to get a better fix on their location while Jim slowly crawled along.

Thankfully, they weren’t in the vents too long. Ninjamon managed to navigate them to a room he claimed was only a couple down from the main control room. Jim was very grateful to the two Palmon that helped lower him back out of the vents. Without their help, he’d have probably have toppled out face first.

Despite his impulsive planning, Ninjamon was right about the control room practically being vacated by personnel in favor of investigating the server room. There was only one Hagurumon manning the control panel and eyeing the monitors that appeared to have cameras in various locations around the base and outside monitoring the fight.

Before Jim could ask what they were going to do next, Ninjamon darted in and knocked the Hagurumon out with a hard hit to the back of the machine’s head with the butt of his katana handle. The Palmon were quick to tie him up and gag him. Jim and Bukamon decided to join Ninjamon by the monitors and began to see what they could find.

The server room appeared to have only one Hagurumon hovering frantically about bemoaning the mess they’d made earlier while a troop of those grey Digimon left the room. Jim nervously tracked their progress and was relieved to see them heading above ground to join the fight.

“Barracks are empty,” Ninjamon reported. “So not too many of those goon-mon are left. We have a few still patrolling the halls, but there appear to only be two Hagurumon in this place. Systems are failing.”

That last bit was said rather gleefully.

Jim wasn’t sure what he was doing, but while tapping around randomly he came across a recording of some kind.

“ _Your orders are to finish construction on the Control Spires on File Island_ ,” a smooth, but monotone man’s voice said. “ _Once preparations are complete, continue on to Server Continent. I want this world locked down. Do no fail, Hagurumon, or you will face Lord Iramon’s rather personally._ ”

“Iramon?” Jim repeated. “But isn’t that one of the Zaigou from that other world? The one that carved up that JP kid’s face?”

Ninjamon scowled, but nodded. “Sure is. We need to get out of here and wreck this place. Then we need to contact Gennai. He needs to know.”

Jim nodded, turning to leave when they were suddenly face to face with the second Hagurumon.

“Stop right there!” the machine creaked. “So you’re the meddlers! I’ll destroy you!”

“JIM!”

Jim just barely dodged a thrown gear attack from the machine Digimon and saw in the corner of his eye, his partner glow yellow-gold.

“BUKAMON DIGIVOLVE TOOO… CRABMON!”

“Back off, bub!” a gravely voice snarled. There was a loud clang and Hagurumon let out a pained cry.

Jim looked up and saw that instead of his little hovering partner, there was a large blue-grey crab that nearly came up to Jim’s knees with metal bladed pincers that were snapping menacingly at the flying gear Digimon.

“You alright, Jim?” the crab asked.

“Yeah… fine. Thanks,” Jim stammered. “You sure grew into a big guy, Bukamon.”

“I’m Crabmon now,” the crustacean digimon said with a smirk. “Ninjamon, what say we take care of these clankers and get outta here?”

“Fine by me,” Ninjamon said, with a smirk of his own, and darted foward, cleaving the one that had attacked Jim in two, turning him into bits of data while Crabmon lifted the one they’d knocked out and tied up earlier. It was awake now, and staring fearfully at them.

“Cooperate and we won’t turn you into data bits like your friend,” Crabmon growled, dragging the machine Digimon along as they made their way out of the base.

Jim didn’t know how to feel about how Ninjamon had just cut down the attacking Hagurumon, or how his own partner had threatened to do the same to the other, but he knew for sure that with the way these enemy Digimon had come after them with the intent to kill… surely it could be considered self-defence, right? This was turning into a war. Kill or be killed and all that… But still, it didn’t mean that Jim had to be comfortable about taking a Digimon’s life, right? He was a doctor’s son. He was raised to save lives, not take them.

“Jim! Quit dragging your feet and let’s go!” Ninjamon snapped.

Setting the moral dilemma aside for now, Jim hurried to follow the others. He told himself that he’d talk with Mr. Ishida and Crabmon about it later.

 

 

**Adventure Digital World: Location: Northern Forest Spire**

Saito pressed his back against the wall waiting for the patrol of grey Digimon to pass by on the other side of the alcove he was hiding in. Once the sound of their marching was gone, he relaxed.

“Saito, this is taking too long,” Haru said. “The girls are sure to be worried about us by now.”

“Without a doubt,” Saito sighed. “How’s Piddomon holding up?”

“I’m fine,” the angel Digimon said, despite the fact he was holding his right wing tucked in close to his body. He flexed it experimentally, but flinched when it was fully extended. It was more than he had been able to do with it recently, though. “I’ll heal up soon enough.”

One of those gasmask wearing freaks had taken a shot that clipped him good in the wing an hour ago.

“We need to get to back to that control room,” Haru sighed. “We were able to make contact with someone outside of our world.”

“I know, but to do that, we need to clear the room. We nearly got caught last time,” Saito huffed. “What we need is a distraction.”

No sooner had he said that, an alarm began to sound. The two men and Piddomon looked at each other, then pressed themselves tight against the wall as a Hagurumon followed by a troop of those grey Digimon marched past.

They waited a moment to make sure no more were coming.

“Now’s our chance,” Saito sighed. “Let’s move.”

The trio hurried out of their hiding place and darted down the corridor to where the control room was located. Just as they were reaching the right door, they heard hurrying footsteps towards their location. They darted into the control room, which was thankfully empty, and stood against the wall behind the door. The door opened again a few minutes later but before Saito and Haru jumped whoever came through it, they recognized who it was.

“Jun? Chizuru?”

The two teens squealed softly, whirling around on the spot to face them with wide eyes and startled expressions.

“Oh thank God!” Jun cried. “We thought you two had been captured!”

“This place is better guarded than we anticipated,” Saito sighed, patting the two girls on the shoulder. “Sorry we worried you.”

“How did you get in?” Haru asked. “Those grey mask wearing freaks are everywhere.”

Jun and Chizuru then began to tell them a strange story about a white Lopmon who showed them how to get in through a backdoor in the tower, about the room full of servers they’d found, and how they’d found a supply room and rigged it to explode.

“So that’s what all the fuss was about,” Haru chuckled. “Looks like we’ve got a couple of pyromaniacs here, Sai.”

“You two did good work,” Saito said, amused by the girl’s beaming grins. “Now let’s see what we can learn about this place and level it to the ground.”

With that the four of them looked over the computer console while Piddomon, Bukamon, and Koromon kept watch. Jun and Chizuru had done a good job with the distraction. The place was crawling with those grey Digimon and two Hagurumon. Haru found the server room, and reported that another of the server towers had turned red - the last one in the area Hiroaki and Jim were supposed to be checking out.

“We take this tower out, then all that’ll be left are the three on the coast,” Haru said, pointing out the three red dots on a map of File Island he’d found marked with Control Spire locations.

“There are plans for somewhere called Server,” Jun reported, pulling up a larger map on her screen covered in grey dots. “But I don’t think anything’s been built yet.”

“Why? They clearly have the manpower,” Chizuru said, pulling up a screen. “And look what I found. I don’t think those grey Digimon are naturally born. They look manufactured.”

Saito joined the girl and scowled then he saw what was clearly a factory making more of those things.

“No wonder they keep coming,” he snarled. “They keep making more of them.”

“Can we shut it down from here?” Jun asked.

“I’m not a computer wiz, like Keisuke, but I sure can try,” Haru said, pulling up what he could on the production facility. “I’m a pretty decent hacker.”

Saito and the girls watched as Haru’s fingers flew across the keys for minutes on end. His efforts must have led to something, however, because the footage of the Digimon making production line began to show red lights flashing and things were clearly going wrong. A few more minutes later and the two Hagurumon appeared on screen trying to fix things.

“Oh no you don’t,” Haru snarled. “Here’s what you get for creating such abominations.”

He tapped a few more keys and things began to explode on screen until the footage cut out. A few seconds later the ground shook.

“Okay, time to go,” Saito decided when another larger tremor shook the place. “You ready to bust some heads, Piddomon?”

“Yes,” Piddomon said, flapping his wings strongly. The right wing still seemed to be giving him some trouble, but if he said he was good to go, Saito wasn’t going to question him.

They hurried out of the control spire, deciding to take the way Jun and Chizuru had used to sneak in. It was better than trying to battle a ton of those grey masked monsters. Just when they thought they were home free in the server room, the two Hagurumon came screaming out of nowhere, parts of their metal bodies melted.

“YOU! MEDDLERS!” they screeched, going right for the girls. “YOU SHALL PAY FOR INTERFERING WITH THE MASTER’S WORK!!!”

Saito grabbed hold of Chizuru, pulling her back, and Haru managed to push Jun out of the deranged pair’s path, but Haru took a bad hit to the back.

Piddomon was there in an instant, blasting the berserk Digimon back, but they kept dodging the angle’s attacks and went for the humans again.

“Jun!” “Chizuru!” the two In-Training partner Digimon cried before jumping at the Hagurumon, their bodies glowing with the light of Digivolution.

“KOROMON! DIGIVOLVE TOOO… SNOW AGUMON!”

“BUKAMON! DIGIVOLVE TOOO… SYAKOMON!”

Saito stared in amazement at the white Agumon standing before him and the others next to a pink shelled Digimon with a green blobby bunny body inside that had big yellow eyes.

“You guys need to cool off!” Snow Agumon cried before firing a white blast, “Ice Shot!”

“Water Pressure!” Syakomon squealed before sending a stream of water at the two Hagurumon.

The combined attacks froze the two Hagurumon solid. As they began to fall to the ground, Piddomon smashed them to bits with his staff.

“Now let’s get out of here,” Haru sighed, helping Jun up.

Together, Syakomon, Snow Agumon, and Piddomon managed to blast the door open and quickly exited the Control Spire.

“Greymon X! Monzaemon! Pandamon! Level this thing and let’s be done with it!” Saito shouted as soon as they were clear.

The two Campion level and one Ultimate level Digimon reveled in cutting loose and utterly demolishing the tower. Greymon X even burned out all of the lower levels with his Mega Flame, nearly blowing himself up as the underground levels reacted and exploded.

Evacuation of the area was swift and hurried, but it was very satisfying to see that spire gone. Luckily in the battle surrounding the spire, a lot of the trees had been knocked down and the ground upturned so the fire didn’t spread.

Piddomon healed Haru’s back before returning to his Patamon form, exhausted, and fell asleep in an instant. Not long after, Gennai’s base appeared to pick them up. They were the last team to be collected and Saito was greatly relieved to see his wife again. Jun and Chizuru were quick to join the other teens and after a brief reunion, a very serious looking Gennai called them all together for a meeting. It was time for a debrief.

 

 

** Savers Human World: Location: DATS HQ **

Masaru watched his father and the tech personnel scurry around as they triple checked that they had everything they thought that they would need, as well as backup supplies. It was a lot.

“It took a couple days, but I think we’re ready,” Thoma sighed as he took a seat next to Masaru.

“So who all’s going?” Masaru asked.

“You, me, Yoshino, your dad, Chika, Ikuto, Mr. and Mrs. Noguchi, Director Satsuma, Commander Yushima, Miki, Megumi, and some of the tech staff.”

Masaru sighed, looking over to where Ikuto and Chika were sitting together, playing with Ikuto’s kid sister while the Noguchi parents were helping check equipment.

“Your mom is going to be taking care of Ruka while her family is away,” Tohma said, seeing part of what was troubling Masaru.

“Do Chika and Ikuto really have to come?” Masaru asked softly.

“I’d give good money to see you try to stop them,” Tohma chuckled. “Ikuto grew up in the Digital World, Masaru. He wants to go no matter what. As for your sister… I don’t think she would forgive you or any of us for leaving her behind this time. Commander Yushima gave her a Digivice IC of her own a while ago. Piyomon is her partner and both she and Ikuto have every right to join us as DATS agents. Besides, they’re as old as we were when you joined DATS. We have no right to tell them no.”

“But we’re going to war,” Masaru argued. “That’s no place for kids like them.”

“Maybe you’ve forgotten in the last five years, but Ikuto has already been part of a war,” Tohma said sternly. “You haven’t been around to see him getting restless these last few weeks. He’s been training and pulling moves in the gym that I haven’t seen him do since he was that feral child we brought back from the Digital World. He’s been teaching Chika too. Both are determined to go and will give you quite a fight if you try and stop them now. They’re as prepared as they’re ever going to be. It’s more than we ever were when we started.”

“And besides,” Yoshino’s voice piped in, “they’ll have us watching their backs.”

Masaru leveled an unimpressed glare at the both of them.

“And if it was Relena, Tohma?” Masaru asked. “What if she wanted to go?”

Tohma pursed his lips and glared unhappily right back at Masaru.

“As she is? No. But!” Tohma snapped. “If she had the experience and interaction with Digimon and the training that Chika’s gone through these last few weeks with Ikuto? I wouldn’t like it. I’d do my best to talk her out of it, but in the end I’d let her go if that is what she wanted.”

“And it’s what I want, big brother.”

Masaru turned around and saw Chika standing behind him with Ikuto at her side. Both young teens were staring up at him in a determined fashion.

“We’re going,” Ikuto declared.

“We’re heading for a war zone,” Masaru said grimly. “We have no idea if we’ll be able to get back once we’re there. Some of us are more than likely to get hurt. We may even die over there.”

Both youths looked at each other before returning their gaze to Masaru.

“We understand,” they said.

“And you still want to go?” Masaru pressed.

“Yes.”

“Even if we may never see our families again?”

“Yes.”

Masaru sighed, glancing over at Tohma and Yoshino, both of whom only smiled sadly back at him as if to say, “You warned them. What else can you do?” Masaru shook his head, but nodded at Chika and Ikuto. They nodded back solemnly before stepping forward to hug him.

“Is it time to say our goodbyes already?”

Masaru looked up to see his mother smiling sadly at them. His heart ached. He’d missed her so much over the last five years and now after only being back home for a couple of days he was leaving her again. And worse, he was taking his dad and Chika with him, leaving her all alone on Earth. Sure, Suguru wasn’t going further than their own Digital World, but he and Chika were essentially heading to war. They might never see her again.

“Mom…”

“I’m really proud of you, Masaru. You too, Chika,” Sayuri Daimon said as she stepped forward to join the group hug. Ikuto was quick to slip out of it though and for that, Masaru was grateful as he held his mother and sister close.

“I’m sorry I have to leave you again so soon, Mom,” he whispered.

“As am I,” Sayuri sighed, tears in her eyes. “But I believe that the two of you’ll come back to me again. Take care of your sister and Ikuto, Masaru.”

“I will,” Masaru said, his voice husky from holding back tears. Real men didn’t break down and cry just because they were leaving. This wasn’t goodbye. If his mom believed they’d come back, then he was going to do his damned best to make sure they did so that she didn’t have a reason to cry again.

“Chika, listen to Masaru,” Sayuri said, her voice watery as well as she ran her fingers through her daughter’s hair. “He knows what he’s doing when it comes to working with and fighting Digimon. But make sure he doesn’t do anything too reckless.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Chika hiccupped as she leaned into her mother’s touch.

“Take care,” Sayuri said, pulling back out of the hug.

Chika and Masaru nodded.

“They’ll be fine, Sayuri,” Suguru said as he joined them and hugged his wife. “Masaru is a great man. He’s defended our corresponding Digital World well over the last five years. Chika will be safe with him and they’ll come back to us before we know it.”

“Right,” Sayuri said, smiling up at her husband.

Masaru and Chika looked away so that their parents could say their goodbyes, noting that Yoshino was standing just outside the lab doors now talking to three women who looked like her (her mother and older sisters no doubt). Tohma was at a computer skyping his father and sister goodbye as well. Ikuto was with his parents, saying goodbye to Ruka while she cried, clinging to as many of them as she could.

“It’s time to go,” Suguru said gently, placing a hand on Masaru’s shoulder and the other on Chika’s.

The Daimon children nodded, turning to give their mother one more hug and say goodbye one last time before joining the departure team on the platform that would transport them to the Digital World.

Masaru watched as his mom took a bawling Ruka from her parents while Ikuto hurried up the platform to stand beside him and Chika. Masaru tried to give the boy a reassuring smile and got a weak one back.

Gods, this hurt so much more than it had five years ago. Last time had been exciting. It’d been the start of an adventure. He’d been going alone and leaving everyone behind. Now, even though he was leaving with most of his friends and family, it hurt to leave the few that weren’t coming with them behind. It hurt to see his mother smile brightly at them even though she was clearly holding back tears and her pain at watching the rest of her family leave. It hurt to see her holding tightly onto Ruka as the six year old girl squirmed and cried out, reaching for her family.

Yoshino’s mother and older sisters had been allowed into the lab and he felt for his friend as she waved good bye with a painfully fake smile. Masaru couldn’t even tell whether it hurt more or less for Tohma, whose family wasn’t there, as he worked on activating the portal. Was it more or less painful that he hadn’t been able to say goodbye to his father and little sister in person and had to settle for a call over the computer?

Then Kudamon was glowing and digivolving into Kentaurosmon as the portal activated.

“Mom! Chika and I are coming back, you hear?! That’s my promise to you and a man always keeps his word!” Masaru shouted just before the portal zapped them away.

The last he saw of his mom was her tears and bright smile.

~*~*~*~*~*~

What does Iramon's involvement with building the Control Spires mean? What have the other new Adventure DigiDestined and Gennai found out about them? When will Yutaka decide to test his new Beast Spirit? Will he be able to control it? Will Alice, Minami, Kai and their group reach the next level safely? Can they trust Apemon? And what will the DATS team do once they reach the Digital World? I guess we'll just have to find out next time on Digimon: Digital Monsters!

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man was this a long chapter. I think this more than makes up for no post in September and covers October.
> 
> So what did you guys think? All of the new teenage Adventure Digidestined have now been introduced to their partner's Rookie levels. Thoughts? I've definitely messed with their digivolution lines, so don't expect normal digivolutions from these partners, like Wormmon.
> 
> I know that the Tamers part of the chapter was slow again, but the focus was really on the Adventure teams this chapter. I promise more will happen with Tamers and Frontier next time. And DATS is back in things! They're going to be in the Digital World next chapter so we'll finally see some more action on their part too. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and are looking forward to the next one.
> 
> If your guys are wondering where this takes place on the Ultimate Gathering side of things, this takes place at the beginning of those 4 days TK and Koichi are trying to help Paressemon and Tai and the others are transversing the tunnels to Netsusa, so we're in a stretch that takes place between chapters 25 & 26 in UGotD. This is also roughly day 10-11 since everything's begun. Time works a bit differently in all worlds, so that's why it's day in some world and night in others, in case you guys are wondering, but they're all roughly on the same day.
> 
> Thanks for reading guys! I hope you liked it and look forward to the next chapter!


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